Gujarat Horror: 6 Killed, 30 Injured After Sleeper Bus Rams Parked Truck In Vadodara

Vadodara: At least six people, including a nine-year-old child, lost their lives and nearly 30 others sustained injuries in a horrific road accident in the early hours of Wednesday on the Vadodara-Halol highway. 

The incident occurred around 4:00 AM near Kotambi village when a speeding, Surat-bound private luxury sleeper bus ploughed into the rear of a parked truck.

According to Vadodara District Superintendent of Police Sushil Agrawal, the truck had pulled over on the roadside near the Kotambi International Cricket Stadium so the driver could check the vehicle's tyre pressure. 

The luxury bus, operated by Balaji Travels, was transporting passengers, mostly labourers and daily wage earners, from Banswara in Rajasthan to Surat for work. 

Because the crash happened in the darkness of dawn, most of the passengers on board were fast asleep when the collision took place.

The impact of the crash was exceptionally severe, completely crushing the front section and the driver's cabin of the sleeper bus. 

The collision trapped multiple passengers inside the mangled steel wreckage, prompting an immediate large-scale emergency response.

Personnel from the local Jarod police station rushed to the scene alongside the Vadodara Fire and Emergency Services Department. 

Recognising the extreme structural damage to the bus and the complexity of freeing the trapped victims, the authorities also deployed teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).

Emergency teams utilised heavy machinery, including a JCB excavator and advanced metal-cutting tools, to slice open the sides of the bus and pull victims from the wreckage. 

While 24 passengers were successfully extracted alive from the debris, rescue workers recovered five bodies directly from the scene, with a sixth fatality confirmed later.

The 30 injured passengers were quickly evacuated and admitted to the SSG Civil Hospital in Vadodara, where medical officials confirmed that at least five individuals remain in critical condition. 

The major accident triggered a massive traffic gridlock on the Vadodara-Halol highway, with queues stretching over four to five kilometres. Emergency crews worked into the mid-morning to clear the debris. 

The police have registered a case and launched an investigation into the exact circumstances leading up to the fatal collision.

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