One killed, 2 feared drowned as car falls into Bhakra canal

INCIDENT TOOK PLACE AFTER THE DRIVER LOST CONTROL OVER THE CAR AND THE VEHICLE CRASHED OUT OF THE BRIDGE WHERE THE RAILING WAS BROKEN

PATIALA :A man was killed and at least two persons were feared drowned after the car they were travelling in fell into the Narwana branch of the Bhakra canal near Ghanaur town in Patiala district on Sunday afternoon.

Divers fished out the body of Jaspreet Singh of Ambala and the Hyundai Santro car while search for other occupants was on, the police said.

The police could not verify exactly how many people were there in the vehicle. The incident took place after the driver lost control over the car and the vehicle crashed out of the bridge where the railing was broken.

“There is still no concrete information whether there were two or three persons. The second occupant was identified as Vikas Anand, a friend of Jaspreet, from Ambala city.

“We have contacted the Amabla police to trace their families. We will have proper information once the victims’ once families reach here. We have found three mobile phones in the car,” said a police official.

Earlier, local residents informed the police that a Hyundai Santro car had fallen into canal. The police immediately called divers from Patiala and deployed a crane to pull the car.

The locals said broken railings on narrow bridges pose threat to the commuters’ lives as it is difficult to spot them when it is dark or amid fog-like conditions.

People prefer to commute to Ambala via this stretch as it is 10 kilometres shorter than the National Highway-1 on which they have to cross the Shambu barrier.

In the last six months, two car occupants and a motorcyclist have died after their vehicles plunged into the canal.