UTTAR PRADESH: At least 32 Indian migrant workers were killed in road accidents as they tried to return to their home villages during a nationwide COVID-19 lockdown.
As per details, in the most deadly incident, a truck carrying about 40 labourers, collided another vehicle also carrying workers and their families that were parked at a roadside cafe in Uttar Pradesh.
Local magistrate, Abishek Singh said it is thought the driver of the truck had fallen asleep. “The vehicle was carrying lime powder which suffocated many of those who died, all of whom were men,” he added.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the accident ‘extremely tragic’ and said relief work was in “full swing” at the spot.
A local official, Shashi Mishra said a drunk driver was blamed for the second mishap, in Madhya Pradesh, when a truck bringing labourers back from neighbouring Maharashtra state overturned. He said four people dead were women and 17 people were injured, he added.
The millions of labourers, who live off subsistence wages, have become a major concern for the government as it prepares to ease the COVID-19 lockdown from Monday in a bid to get the economy moving again.
COVID-19 Cases in India rose by nearly 4,000 overnight to 85,940, eclipsing the number officially registered in China — where the pandemic started last year. India’s death toll is 2,752, while China’s stands at 4,633.
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