AMRELI: Eight people were killed and two others seriously injured when a truck rammed into a hut in which they were sleeping in a village in Gujarat's Amreli district on Monday, police said.
The deceased included two children aged 8 and 13 and two elderly persons, the police said, adding two other children were seriously injured in the accident that took place around 2.30 am in Badhada village under Savarkundla rural police limits.
The Gujarat government announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh for the kin of each of the deceased and asked the district collector to conduct a probe into the incident, a statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said.
The driver of the truck, which was modified to include a crane, lost control after dozing off while driving and ploughed into the roadside hut in which 10 people were sleeping, Amreli Superintendent of Police Nirlipt Rai said.
The truck was going from Rajkot to Jafrabad in Amreli district when the accident took place, he said.
The two injured children, aged 3 and 7, were rushed to Amreli civil hospital for treatment.
The bodies were also sent to the hospital for postmortem, the official said.
The truck driver, identified as Pravin Parmar, was arrested from the spot, according to police.
The deceased were identified as Pujaben Solanki (8), Lakshmiben Solanki (30), Shukanben Solanki (13), Hemrajbhai Solanki (37), Narshibhai Sankhla (60), Navdhanbhai Sankhla (65), Virambhai Rathod (35), and Lalabhai Rathod (20), the police added.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani announced financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh for the families of each of the deceased and also directed the district collector to conduct an investigation into the incident and submit a report.
He also instructed the local administration to provide all required assistance to the affected people, the statement from the CMO said.