In a tragic road accident at least 31 people — including 12 children and eight women — were killed in Western Assam’s Barpeta district on Thursday. The DIG (western range) Surendar Kumar who himself was supervising the rescue works with senior police and civil authorities told this newspaper that incident took place near Sarbhog and at least 31 people were killed. “We have shifted 17 others who were critically injured to hospital,” he said. Meanwhile, Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi also visited those injured in the tragic road accident. The police said that victims who were the resident of Tamarhat area in Dhubri district were travelling in two minivans which was trampled by loaded truck which was wrongly coming in the same lane from opposite direction. The incident took place very early in the morning. The workers and their family members were on their way to Rangia where they have been working in a brick kiln. The incident has come as shocker as among those killed there were 12 children including a six-month-old minor. The police, which was focusing on rescue operations, said that they are yet to start investigation, as lapses of National Highways Authority, which is carrying out construction four lanes, could not be ruled out. The police said there have been patches on busy national highways where vehicles from both the directions are diverted in the same lane.
