Twenty-four migrants were killed and many were injured when a truck they were travelling in collided with another truck at around 3 am in a town in Indian State Uttar Pradesh, about 200 km from the state capital Lucknow. This is the latest incident where stranded migrant workers - left jobless due to the coronavirus lockdown - have been killed in an accident while trying to return home.
The group started their journey from Rajasthan and they were headed to their villages in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, according to the officials. Desperate to return home, they had hitched a ride on a truck that was carrying food packets. The collision was reported in UP's Auraiyaa district, reports NDTV.
Distressing visuals of chaos from the accident site showed labourers getting help from locals after the accident. A large number of policemen can be seen carrying out rescue operations; some of them can be seen pulling out the food packets.
"Honourable Chief Minister has taken note of the unfortunate incident in Auraiya. He has expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the labourers who lost their lives. He has also directed that all the injured be provided medical care immediately and the Commissioner and IG Kanpur to visit the site and give the report on the cause of the accident immediately," a statement from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's office read.