Fifteen persons were killed and two others injured when a fruit-laden truck they were travelling in overturned in Jalgaon district in north Maharashtra early on Monday.
According to the Jalgaon police, the accident occurred sometime after Sunday midnight when a papaya-laden tempo truck coming from neighbouring Dhule district overturned near Kingaon village. The injured are being treated at a rural hospital nearby, said police.
Condoling the tragedy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “Heart-wrenching truck accident in Jalgaon, Maharashtra. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover at the earliest.”
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The Prime Minister’s Office further tweeted that Mr. Modi had approved “an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh each from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives... ₹50,000 would be given to those seriously injured.”
Describing the accident as “unfortunate”, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray also announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh to each of the families of the deceased from the Chief Minister's Assistance Fund.
“The Chief Minister has also directed the administration to treat the injured workers at the State government’s expense,” tweeted the Chief Minister’s Office.
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The police are investigating the precise cause of the accident. The deceased, who comprised members of four or five families, hailed from the villages of Abhoda, Kerhale, Vivare in the district’s Raver tehsil.
The victims have been been identified as Ashok Jagan Wagh, 40, his wife Sangeeta, 35 and their three-year-old child Sagar, along with another relative Narendra Waman Wagh, 25; Kamalabai Ramesh More, 45 and her two children Ganesh, 5, and Sharada, 15; Sabnur Hussain Tadvi, 53, Dildar Hussain Tadvi, 20; Shaikh Hussain Shaikh, 30, and Sarfaraz Kasam Tadvi, 32; Digambar Madhav Sapkale, 55, Sandeep Bhalerao, 25, and his wife Durgabai, 20, and Samanabai Ingle, 24.