World | India
20 dead after truck overturns in north India
A truck packed with pilgrims overturned in northern India, leaving 20 dead and at least 60 injured, police said on Tuesday.
- Agencies
- Published: 10:00 March 31, 2009
New Delhi: A truck packed with pilgrims overturned in northern India, leaving 20 dead and at least 60 injured, police said on Tuesday.
The accident took place late Monday night when the driver lost control of his vehicle near Jhajjar - a village about 60 miles north of Chandigarh, the capital of India's Punjab state. Officials at the police control room don't identify themselves as a matter of department policy.
The pilgrims, both Hindus and Sikhs, were on their way to a remote temple in the foothills of the Himalayas to celebrate Navratras, a nine-day festival that honors the goddess Shakti, or divine mother.
Thousands of pilgrims head to temple sites across the country to mark the auspicious dates. Tuesday is the fifth day of the festival. Last year a stampede during similar festivities killed about 145 people at the Naina Devi temple, the same site the pilgrims were headed to Monday night.
Deadly road accidents are common in India, often caused by aging, overloaded vehicles and reckless driving. It's also not unusual to find trucks ferrying dozens of passengers.
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