Gujarat : Five killed as pickup van plunges in a canal on Vadodara-Halol highway

VADODARA, GUJARAT : Four people—including two children—lost their lives and over fifteen others suffered major injuries in an accident on Wednesday afternoon on the Vadodara-Halol highway when a Bolero pickup van overturned and fell into a canal close to Kotambi village.

About 3 pm, the Bolero pickup’s driver lost control over the steering wheel, which sent the car overturning close to the Kotambi Cricket Stadium. Loaded with wood, the unfortunate car was heading back from Jhalod to Vadodara when Vilamb Damor, the driver, volunteered a lift to the passengers.

With 108 ambulances picking up the distress call at 3 pm, emergency services were fast to respond.. Six to seven ambulances arrived at the spot; four ambulances carried the injured to Sayaji Hospital in Vadodara. Already close because of a fire incident, the fire brigade got at the accident site right away and started rescue efforts. Local people helped with the rescue also.

Confirming the deaths, Police Inspector Kripalsinh Jhala of Jarod Police Station said, “Two children and two men have died in the tragedy. We arrived at the site and moved the wounded to the hospital for treatment. Forensic experts have assisted in starting an inquiry into the problem.”

The injured have been shifted at Sayaji Hospital and are presently under medical treatment. The quick response of the fire department helped to rescue the injured victims from the overturned pick up van from the canal. Though their efforts are commendable, the death toll—which at four already stands—may increase as some of the injured passengers’ condition remains critical.

According to witnesses, at the time of the tragedy the Bolero pickup van was transporting between twelve and fifteen persons—including children from Dahod to Vadodara in Gujarat . Tragic and chaotic, the car had tipped over and sank into the canal. Four bodies—sent for postmortem—have been recovered from the car by the fire brigade.

From Dahod, the victims were en route in the rented pickup van towards Vadodara.