15 dead after being run over while sleeping on Indian highway

At least 15 people, mostly migrant workers, died on Tuesday while they were run over by a truck while they sleep on the side of a road in the West Indian state of Gujarat.

The accident took place in the early morning near the town of Kosamba, when the driver of a freight truck passed a makeshift construction site on the road where about twenty people were sleeping.

Of the victims, twelve died at the scene and three others died while receiving medical treatment due to the seriousness of the injuries, he said. Efe the officer in charge of the Kosamba police station, Bharat Patel.

Four other people were injured and were hospitalized, the officer added.

According to the initial investigation, the driver lost control when the truck’s windshield was struck by an object detached from another oncoming vehicle, Patel explained.

Most of the victims were construction workers from other states in the country who slept there with their families.

The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, she expressed her dismay at “tragic” accident and announced compensation of 200,000 rupees (approximately $ 2,700) for the families of each deceased and 50,000 rupees (approximately $ 700) for the injured.

Road accidents in India are common due to poor road conditions, precarious conditions of some vehicles, and non-compliance with traffic rules.

In 2019, a total of 151,113 people lost their lives and more than 451,000 were injured in some 449,000 road crashes in India, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Road and Road Transport.