Sixteen labourers died on Monday, 15 February, after a truck overturned in Maharashtra's Jalgaon district, the police said.
The deceased include six women and two children, who died on the spot, and five others were injured in the incident. The accident happened around midnight near a temple in Kingaon village in Yawal taluk, when the truck driver lost control of the vehicle over a snag, reported The Times of India.
The deceased workers were sitting on heaps of papayas in the truck, which were being ferried from Dhule district. They suffocated inside the truck when it overturned, Yawal Police Station Sub-Inspector Sudhir Patil said, according to TOI.
The deceased workers hailed from Abhoda, Kerhala, and Raver in the district, and the five injured people are being treated at a hospital, reported The Indian Express.
PM Modi, Maha CM Announce Ex-Gratia Payments
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on Twitter. He approved an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the next of kin of those who died in the incident, and Rs 50,000 for those seriously injured.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the kin of the deceased, his office said.
(With inputs from Times of India and The Indian Express)
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