BARGARH: Four labourers sleeping under a parked truck were crushed to death after its driver reversed the vehicle and ran over them at Birjam village within Melchamunda police limits here during the wee hours on Thursday.
The deceased, Fagan Singh Dhube (34), Vishnu Mervai (23) and Shankar Adabasi (21) of Madhya Pradesh besides Rajesh Kumar Netam (20) of Chhattisgarh had come to Birjam village for borewell drilling work. Another labourer, Damarbale Hira of Madhya Pradesh, sustained critical injuries in the incident and has been admitted to VIMSAR, Burla.
Sources said a group of labourers along with a drilling vehicle and a truck carrying pipes and other equipment had come to dig a deep borewell on the farmland of one Sushanta Biswal of Birjam. On Wednesday night, some of the labourers went to sleep under the truck to save themselves from the cold weather.
Before commencement of work in the early hours on Thursday, the driver of the drilling vehicle asked his counterpart on the truck to lend him some fuel. As both the vehicles had to be parked parallel for sharing fuel, the truck driver started his vehicle.
Five run over by reversing truck
Unaware of the sleeping men, the driver reversed the truck to park it beside the drilling vehicle and in the process, ran over the labourers.
While three labourers were crushed to death on the spot, Rajesh and Damarbale suffered critical injuries. The duo was rushed to Bargarh district headquarters hospital where Rajesh succumbed. Damarbale was later shifted to VIMSAR, Burla and his condition is critical.
On being informed, police rushed to the spot and seized the bodies for autopsy. The truck involved in the accident was seized and police have detained its driver for questioning. A case has been registered under sections 279, 337, 338 and 304 (A) of the IPC and further investigation in underway.