LUCKNOW: Four members of a family died when the ambulance in which they were bringing home the body of the head of the family was hit by an unidentified vehicle here in the early hours of Friday, police said.
Another member of the family was seriously injured in the accident which took place near the Billeswar temple under the Purva Kotwali police station area, they said.
Circle Officer (CO) Deepak Singh said Dhaniram Savita (73), a resident of Maurawan here, died during treatment at Kanpur’s Hallet Hospital and his family were bringing his body home in an ambulance. On their way home, the ambulance was hit by an unidentified vehicle.
Savita’s wife Prema (70) and daughters Manjula (45), Anjali (40) and Ruby (30) died on the spot and another daughter Sudha was seriously injured, he said.
The bodies have been sent for post-mortem in Unnao and Sudha is undergoing treatment at a Kanpur hospital, he added.
The ambulance driver is safe but he is untraceable. A search is on for him and the reason behind the accident will be ascertained soon, Singh said.
A case has been registered in connection with the incident on the basis of a complaint lodged by the victims’ family members, he said.
Locals said they heard a loud sound and rushed to the spot to find the mangled ambulance. Soon after, they informed the police.
They said the occupants of the ambulance were shouting for help but four of them died by the time they were taken out by the police.