9 migrant labourers killed after truck and bus collide in Bihar

PATNA: Nine migrant labourers died and many remain trapped as a truck crashed with a bus in Bihar's Bhagalpur district on early Tuesday morning. The mishap took place when the ill-fated truck en route to Khagaria side carrying around a dozen of migrant labourers from Katihar collided with a bus coming from the opposite direction on NH 31, near Naughachchiya.

Confirming this accident, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Bhagalpur range, Sujeet Kumar said that the process to identify the deceased has been started by local police. He said that nine bodies were extracted out so far.

"As per an initial inquiry of police, the migrant labourers had boarded the truck that was loaded with iron rods somewhere from Katihar side. The police have recovered few bicycles also that suggest the migrants were returning on their bikes", Kumar said, adding that he was about to reach the spot.

He said that three JCB machines were engaged in taking out the bodies from the debris of truck. The driver and the cleaner of the truck, however, managed to escape after the mishap, he added.

As good luck would have it, only a few migrant labourers, who also being ferried by the bus that collided with the truck, sustained minor injuries.

In another incident at Gopalganj district, a migrant worker was run over by a freight train early morning. On Monday, six migrant labourers were also killed in different road mishaps in Bihar. A migrant had skidded off the roof of a bus in Banka district on Monday and died on the spot.