50 vehicles ram into each other due to dense fog in Jhajjar; 8 dead, 10 injured

Rohtak, Dec 24: Multiple vehicles rammed into each other due to reduced visibility and dense fog on Monday morning on Rohtak-Rewari highway in Haryana's Jhajjar district. Eight people were killed and around 10 injured in a highway pile-up involving at least 50 vehicles.

Accident took place on Rohtak-Rewari highway

The incident took place near a flyover in Haryana's Jhajjar. Seven of the eight dead are women. 10 of the injured are critical. The grievously injured have been admitted to Rohtak's PGIMS. Six of the seven dead are women and belonged to the same family, said reports.

Dense fog during early mornings is a major problem in North India

The victims were travelling in a jeep, officials said, as per a PTI report.

"As the cruiser jeep was involved in an accident with a truck, other vehicles which were close behind also rammed into each other. The visibility was poor due to dense fog," a Jhajjar police official said.

Six of the seven dead are women

A school bus, several trucks, and cars were reported to be among the vehicles that collided with each other. For the past one week, the dense fog has reduced the visibility level at various parts in the state, resulting in difficulty for commuters.

Haryana Minister Om Prakash Dhankar

Haryana Agriculture Minister Om Prakash Dhankar visited the hospital where injured have been admitted and announced ex-gratia to the kin of the deceased.

"Compensation of Rs. 2 lakhs will be given to the kin of the deceased, Rs. 1 lakh to those severely injured and Rs.50,000 to those with minor injuries," ANI quoted Dhankar as saying.

In November last year, several people were injured after around 20 cars rammed into each other on the Agra-Noida Yamuna Expressway due to low visibility. The collision took place on both sides of the expressway as thick fog engulfed regions near Delhi-NCR.

On December 8, 2016, at least 15 people were injured following a pile-up of vehicles due to dense fog on the busy National Highway No. 1 (NH-1) near Kurukshetra in Haryana. On December 1, 2016, at least one person was killed and several others injured after 12 vehicles piled up at Yamuna Expressway near Mathura due to dense fog.

(Images courtesy - ANI/Twitter)