NEW DELHI, May 18 (Xinhua) -- At least 11 Hindu pilgrims were killed and 19 others injured on Friday after a speeding dumper truck ran into a huge group of pilgrims marching toward a shrine in northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, officials said.
The accident took place outside Bichai-Tanakpur in Champawat district, about 312 km southeast of Dehradun, the capital city of Uttarakhand.
"Today in a horrifying incident here, a rashly driven dumper truck rammed into a group of pilgrims walking towards Purnagiri shrine," Hemant Kumar Verma, additional district magistrate in Champawat told Xinhua over telephone. "Eleven pilgrims were killed in the accident and 19 others injured are undergoing treatment at different hospitals."
According to officials, the group comprising of around 250 pilgrims were walking barefoot as part of the pilgrimage when the vehicle hit them.
The victims were identified as residents from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly district.
Reports said the driver of the vehicle fled the spot. However, police said they were trying to ascertain his details and would arrest him soon.
Eyewitnesses said following the accident shrieks and cries of injured triggered a chaos in the locality.
Police have registered a case and ordered investigations to ascertain the actual reason behind the accident.
Deadly road accidents are common in India often caused due to overloading, bad condition of roads and reckless driving.
