7 workers killed as truck rams pickup on Samruddhi near Jalna

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Six women and a man were killed on the spot and at least six others sustained serious injuries after a speeding truck rammed a pickup vehicle on the Samruddhi expressway, near Kadwanchi village in Jalna district, on Wednesday evening."The deceased and the injured people were part of a team of workers carrying out maintenance work — including trimming plants on dividers — of the Samruddhi expressway. The truck rammed the pickup in which these workers were sitting before starting their journey home," Jalna superintendent of police Ajaykumar Bansal told TOI.The collision was so severe that the pickup was completely mangled, trapping several occupants inside. Seven people died instantly due to the impact, while others were left severely injured.Local residents rushed to the accident site immediately after hearing a loud crash and informed the police and emergency services. A police team, along with multiple ambulances, reached the spot and launched a rescue operation. The injured people were extricated from the wreckage with difficulty and shifted to the Jalna District General Hospital for treatment.Hospital sources said some of the injured people are in a critical condition and are being closely monitored. The exact number of people injured is being verified, but officials confirmed that at least half a dozen persons sustained serious injuries.The police seized the truck and also detained the driver, against whom the process of registering an FIR was underway till late on Wednesday. Preliminary investigations pointed to speeding and negligent driving by the driver as the likely cause of the accident. .The police have identified the deceased as Alkabai Adamane, Kanchanbai Adamane, Meena Adamane and Sumanbai Adamane, all from Nidhona, and Laxmibai Madan, Tarabai Chaudhary and Kadubai Madan from Keligavhan.The bodies were sent for postmortem, and their relatives were informed. The police said the bodies will be handed over to the families after completion of legal formalities.