A talati, her two-year-old son, and her parents were among five people killed when their car’s tyre burst and collided with a luxury mini bus on National Highway 27 near Morbi town on Sunday evening.
The incident occurred around 4 p.m. at Amarnagar, a village on the NH 27 about nine kilometres north of Morbi town.
The victims were identified as Jigna Jobanputra (39), a talati-cum-mantri (revenue clerk) with the state government, her son Riyansh (2), her father Mahendra Raveshiya (65) and mother Sudha Raveshiya (63). The fifth victim was identified as Jadavji Bhudiya (43), a resident of Madhapar village in Kutch.
Raveshiya’s husband Jigar who was driving the car was injured in the accident and has been admitted to a hospital in Morbi.
“The family were returning to their home in Morbi after attending a marriage ceremony in Kutch when one of the tyres of their car burst and the driver lost control of the vehicle. The car jumped the road divider and crashed into a tempo traveller coming from the opposite direction,” Said VL Patel, police inspector of Morbi taluka.
The police inspector said that around 13 passengers were travelling on the luxury mini-bus. “The passengers suffered minor injuries. But besides the five who succumbed, Jigar is the only person who suffered serious injuries and has been hospitalised,” added Patel.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel expressed regret for the deaths and announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh to the victims’ families.