A tragic road accident has occurred at Bobasar Pulia in the Sujangarh police station area of Rajasthan's Churu district, when a tempo traveller carrying pilgrims travelling from Salasar Balaji to the holy town of Pushkar collided head-on with a speeding trailer. Three women from the same family died on the spot, while 13 other pilgrims were seriously injured. All those involved in the accident are reported to be residents of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal.
Kolkata family was travelling from Salasar to Pushkar
According to information received, a total of 17 members of the same family from Kolkata had hired a tempo traveller for a pilgrimage to major religious sites in Rajasthan. After offering prayers at the Salasar Balaji temple, they were on their way to Pushkar Dham in Ajmer district.
It was during this journey, near Bobasar Pulia close to Sujangarh, that an oncoming trailer crashed head-on into their vehicle. The collision was so severe that the front portion of the tempo traveller was completely smashed.
Passers-by rushed to the scene after hearing cries
Cries for help rang out at the site immediately after the accident. Local passers-by and residents alerted the police at once and began rescue and relief efforts. On being informed of the accident, Sujangarh Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Omprakash Verma and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Darjaram reached the spot along with police personnel.
With the help of police and local residents, the injured and the deceased, who were trapped inside the badly damaged vehicle, were pulled out after considerable effort. All 13 injured were rushed by ambulance to the Government Bagadia Hospital in Sujangarh, where a team of doctors is treating them. The condition of those critically injured is being closely monitored.
Mourning grips a single family
Police said the deceased women were residents of Kolkata, West Bengal, and were all members of the same family. The joy of a family that had set out on a religious pilgrimage turned to grief within moments. Police have kept the bodies of the deceased in the mortuary and informed their relatives in Kolkata. Traffic on the national highway was disrupted for some time following the accident, which police later restored after removing the damaged vehicles.