7 labourers die after truck crashes into river

The labourers from Bihar were travelling in a small pickup truck when it crashed into a river near Mandi in Himachal Pradesh.

Mandi: Seven migrant workers were killed after their truck fell into a river near Chandigarh- Manali National Highway, police said.

One person was also injured when the pickup truck fell into Suketi Khud at Pulghrat near Mandi at around 3 am.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted hours after the incident and expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the deceased.

The driver lost control and the vehicle fell into the river, breaking the railing, killing seven people sitting in the car. All the people who died in the accident are said to be labourers from Bihar.

Vinod Kumar Thakur, SHO of Sadar police station, reached the scene with his team and started a rescue operation.

Six people died on the spot, while two injured were taken to a zonal hospital where one of them succumbed to his injuries, the police said.

The injured driver who survived the mishap said that all the workers had arrived late at night and the contractor had sent the truck to take them to the bus stand.

The police have registered a case under IPC sections 279 (rash driving), 338 (causing grievous hurt to any person) and 304 A (causing death by negligence).

(With inputs from agency)