A police officer and a truck driver were killed after a speeding container truck carrying iron rods rammed into a highway police vehicle from behind near the Anjanari Bridge on the Mumbai-Goa National Highway in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district at around 11 pm on Saturday, officials said on Sunday.
Source: IANS via Hi India
The vehicle belonged to the Hathkhamba Highway Traffic Police Unit. The impact was so severe that the police Bolero fell about 80 to 100 feet down a steep embankment towards the Anjanari River and overturned, while the container truck also veered off the road, officials said.
Assistant Police Sub-Inspector Santosh Appasaheb Gaikwad, 51, succumbed to his injuries during treatment, and the container truck driver also died while undergoing treatment, officials said. Two other police personnel sustained serious injuries.
The injured were first given primary treatment at Pali Rural Hospital and were later transferred to the Ratnagiri District Government Hospital. Daily Kiran reported that one of the seriously injured officers, Anil Ashok Shingade, was being sent to Sangli for advanced care, and that Sub-Divisional Police Officer Kadam and Police Inspector Dipali Jadhav reached the spot after the crash.
Source: Daily Kiran
The truck driver who died had not been named in the official accounts available so far. Further details on the cause of the crash were awaited as the police inquiry continues.