Aurangabad (Bihar) | At least nine people were killed and several others were injured in four road accidents in Bihar's Aurangabad district, officials said on Monday.
Three people each were killed in Goh and Mufassil police station areas, while two died in Obra and one under NTPC Khaira police station limits.
A Varanasi-bound bus travelling from Bodh Gaya, with tourists from Andhra Pradesh in it, collided head-on with a truck on NH-19 in Mufassil police station area late on Sunday evening, officials said.
"According to preliminary investigation, over-speeding and negligence on the part of the drivers appeared to have caused the collision. However, police are investigating the matter to find out the exact cause of the accident," Aurangabad Sub-divisional Officer (SDO) Santan Kumar said.
Three tourists died and over a dozen passengers suffered injuries. They were shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment and the condition of some of the injured was stated to be critical, he said, adding that the bodies were sent to the hospital for post-mortem examination.
Traffic movement remained disrupted on NH-19 for some time after the accident before being restored by the police, he added.
In another accident, three people were killed and as many injured after a car collided with a sand-laden tractor near Dadhpi Mor on NH-120 in Goh police station area late on Sunday evening, police said.
The deceased have been identified as Mamta Kumari (45), her 18-year-old daughter Chulbul Kumari, and a 17-year-old girl.
Goh Station House Officer (SHO) Rajeev Kumar said the bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination and both the tractor and the car seized.
The occupants of the car had gone to visit Madhushrava fair in Mehandia police station area in Arwal district and were returning home when the accident happened.
Eyewitnesses said the sand-laden tractor was taking a turn and collided with the car, he said, adding the tractor driver fled the scene after the accident.
The three injured persons, including Mamata Kumari's teenage son and daughter, and mother of the deceased minor, were taken to Gaya Medical College and Hospital for treatment.
In the third incident, two people were killed and nine others injured in a head-on collision between a car and an auto-rickshaw near Tejpura on the Daudnagar-Barun Road under Obra police station limits on Sunday evening.
The deceased were identified as Rajesh Paswan and Umesh Paswan, both residents of Bhataulia village in Obra police station area.
Those travelling in the auto-rickshaw were returning home after working as labourers in Nasriganj Nagar Panchayat in Rohtas district, another officer said.
The auto-rickshaw was taking a turn towards Majhitawan Mor when a speeding vehicle coming from the Daudnagar side rammed into it, he said.
Locals rushed to the spot and shifted the injured to Daudnagar hospital, where doctors declared two of them dead. A total of nine people sustained injuries in the accident.
Meanwhile, an NTPC employee was killed when his motorcycle collided head-on with a pickup vehicle in Nabinagar Monday morning, police said.
The accident took place under the jurisdiction of NTPC Khaira police station.
SHO Parmjeet Mandal said the body was sent to Aurangabad Sadar Hospital for post-mortem examination.
Police were investigating the cause of the accident and a manhunt has been launched to nab the pickup vehicle driver.
