Ambulance gutted after hitting truck, three dead
We have not been able to identify the three bodies as they are charred beyond recognition. Prima facie it appears the accident ignited the fire. We are trying to track down the hospital that owned the ambulance. MUKESH KUMAR, SHO, Badalpur
GREATER NOIDA: Three people were charred to death when their ambulance caught fire after hitting a speeding truck from behind at Badalpur in Greater Noida early Wednesday morning.
Five people were travelling in the ambulance. Two of them were thrown off the vehicle due to the impact of the accident while the remaining three were stuck inside and were charred to death.
“We have not been able to identify the three bodies as they are charred beyond recognition. Prima facie it appears the accident ignited the fire inside the ambulance. We are trying to track down the hospital that owned the ambulance,” Mukesh Kumar, station house officer, Badalpur Police station, said.
According to the police, the accident occurred at 2.10 am on Wednesday when the Maruti Omni van ambulance hit the truck near KRBL Mill in Greater Noida.
Sources said the ambulance was going to Dadri from Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) Hospital via Ghaziabad. GTB Hospital is in Shahdara in Delhi, near the Delhi-ghaziabad border.
“The accident happened when an 18-wheeler truck tried to take a steep left turn and the ambulance, which was following it, hit it from behind. Two people were thrown outside the ambulance due to the impact while the other three got stuck. A passerby called the police control room and we reached the spot immediately,” said Kumar.
The two injured persons are Manik, a resident of Khurja in Greater Noida and Srinand Maurya, a resident of Baliya.
“The injured were rushed to the district hospital for immediate medical attention. They said they had asked for a lift from the ambulance in Ghaziabad and they were not acquainted with the three people inside,” said Kumar.
Police seized the truck and booked a case of negligent driving against the driver.
“The driver is absconding but we are trying to track him. The bodies have been kept in the mortuary,” said Kumar.