Five Migrant Workers Killed, 13 Injured as Truck Carrying Them Overturns in MP

The accident took place near Patha village on Saturday night, when nearly 20 migrant labourers were travelling in a truck carrying mangoes.

New Delhi: At least five migrant labourers were killed and 13 others injured when a truck in which they were travelling overturned in Madhya Pradesh’s Narsinghpur district, a police official said on Sunday.

The accident took place near Patha village on Saturday night, when nearly 20 migrant labourers were going in the truck to Jhansi and Etah in Uttar Pradesh from Hyderabad, Additional Superintendent of Police Rajesh Tiwari said.

Five labourers were killed and 13 others were injured after the mangoes-laden vehicle overturned, he said.

The injured persons were admitted to the district hospital for treatment, he added.

Also read: ‘You Can’t go Back’: Migrant Workers Told in Tamil Nadu

According to ANI, the injured workers are being tested for COVID-19 as one of them has a cough and fever.

These deaths come just a day after 16 migrant workers were crushed to death by a goods train in Aurangabad, Maharashtra on Friday morning. The workers were walking to Bhusawal city from Jalna in central Maharashtra along the rail tracks. They were returning to Madhya Pradesh, their home state.

Ever since the government announced a nationwide lockdown to stem the spread of COVID-19, without adequate measures to help migrant workers and daily-wagers survive, there has been an exodus from various cities across the country to the villages, as workers try to make their way to their families. A large number of workers have lost their lives in the process, due to exhaustion and accidents.

(With PTI inputs)