A private ambulance collided head on with an army truck on NH-62 near Suratgarh in Rajasthan on Sunday morning, leaving three people dead, including two women, and two others injured. The crash took place close to 22 LGW village when the ambulance and the army vehicle came face to face on the highway. Police said preliminary information suggests the ambulance driver may have dozed off at the wheel, which caused the vehicle to veer out of control and slam into the oncoming army truck.
Who died and how the response unfolded
The deceased have been identified as residents of Chak 5B village in the Hindumalkot area of Sri Ganganagar district. As soon as news of the crash spread, police from the Sadar police station rushed to the spot and began rescue work. The two injured were rushed to the Suratgarh Trauma Centre, where they were given first aid before being referred to a higher medical facility for further treatment. The bodies of all three victims have been kept in the mortuary of the Suratgarh sub-divisional hospital pending postmortem. Police said a detailed investigation into the crash is still underway to establish whether any other factor contributed to the collision.
A day earlier, Dholpur saw a bigger crash
This is not the only major road accident to hit Rajasthan in recent days. Just a day before, on Saturday, a private bus travelling on National Highway 11B in Dholpur district collided head on with a truck coming from the opposite direction. At least 32 people were injured in that crash, and eight of them were in such serious condition that they had to be shifted to another hospital for better treatment. According to Bari's Additional Superintendent of Police Shravan Jhorar, the accident occurred near the Reliance petrol pump on Khanpur Road. All 32 passengers travelling on the bus suffered injuries of varying severity. On doctors' advice, six patients were referred elsewhere for further treatment, five of them from the hospital and one person taken directly from the accident site to Dholpur.
A motorcycle in the way triggered the collision
According to available information, the bus was travelling from Dholpur towards Bari when a motorcycle suddenly appeared in front of it near Dhanora Mod. In trying to avoid hitting the two wheeler, the bus driver is said to have lost control of the vehicle, which then swerved into the path of a truck coming from the other direction, resulting in a direct collision. Police reached the spot soon after being alerted and had the injured moved to Bari hospital by ambulance. Those with more serious injuries were later referred onward to Dholpur. Traffic on the highway came to a standstill, and a crane had to be used to clear the damaged bus and truck off the road before movement could resume.
What the hospital and an eyewitness said
Bari hospital's Principal Medical Officer Hari Kishan Mangal said close to 30 injured people were brought to the hospital, most of them men and women, with only one or two children among them. He said eight patients were referred to the district hospital because their condition was serious, while the rest were being treated at Bari hospital itself. Rajveer, one of the injured passengers, said the bus suddenly changed course to avoid a motorcycle just before hitting the truck. He said a truck was coming from the Bari side while the bus was coming from the Dholpur side, and alongside the bus was a motorcycle carrying a woman and a man. To save the two motorcycle riders, the bus driver swerved directly in front of the truck, and the two vehicles collided head on. Rajveer said the windshield shattered on impact, and since he was seated right at the front, he was thrown out through the broken windshield. He said he does not know what happened afterwards, but the bus was completely packed with passengers. Police said the investigation into this accident is also continuing.
