Five killed in Bihar autorickshaw-truck collision

Hajipur (Bihar), July 29 (PTI) Five people were killed and five others seriously injured in a collision between an autorickshaw and a truck in Vaishali district of Bihar on Monday, a police official said.

All the victims were travelling in the autorickshaw.

According to Vaishali police station SHO Pravin Kumar, two persons were killed on the spot while the remaining passengers were taken to a hospital where three others succumbed to injuries.

All the deceased, except the autorickshaw driver, were women.

The occupants of the three-wheeler, including the driver, were all residents of Motipur in the adjoining Muzaffarpur district.

The SHO said that the victims were heading for the "Budhiya Maiya" shrine near Hajipur, where Vaishali district is headquartered.

The injured persons were referred to Patna Medical College and Hospital while the police were trying to track down the truck driver of the truck who had fled the spot after the accident.

Meanwhile, in a statement, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed grief over the deaths and announced an ex-gratia of Rs four lakh to the next of kin of each deceased. PTI CORR NAC NN