Three workers were killed and two others injured after a gravel-laden truck overturned on a makeshift tin shelter near an under-construction bridge in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district in the early hours of Friday, police said.
Abhish Singh, Deoband circle officer in Saharanpur, said the accident occurred around 3 am in the Nagal police station area on Saharanpur-Jabrida road, where bridge construction work is currently underway.
Singh said five laborers – Asgar, Istkar, Shokin, Gulvam and Karmveer – all residents of Mahmudpur village, were working at the bridge construction site and had set up a temporary tin shelter on the roadside for the night.
He added that the truck carrying gravel was heading towards Kheda Mughal village when the driver lost control, which led to the vehicle overturning in the shelter under which the workers were sleeping.
Other workers nearby began rescue efforts and notified police.
“After nearly two hours of strenuous efforts, all five workers were recovered from under the overturned truck and the pile of gravel and taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared Asgar, Istkar and Shokin dead on arrival. Gulfam and Karmveer are undergoing treatment,” Singh said.
Singh added that the three bodies have been sent for autopsy, and further investigations are underway to ascertain the cause of the accident, including driver negligence and excessive speed.
