9 kumbh pilgrims die in road accident

SHIVPURI: At least nine pilgrims, including six women, were today killed and three others seriously injured when the jeep carrying them collided head-on with a truck on Agra-Mumbai highway near here, police said.
The incident took place between Lukwasa and Kulhadi villages under Badarwas police station area when victims were returning with the body of a family member (who died in Ujjain due to heat stroke) to Gorakhpur after participating in the Simhastha- Kumbh Mela, Inspector P P Mudgal told PTI.
He said that six persons died on the spot while three succumbed to injuries in a nearby hospital where they were admitted.
All the injured have been admitted to the district hospital, he added.
Badarwas Police Station Inspector Mudgal said the ill-fated jeep was carrying 13 pilgrims in all.
One of the injured, Payal Singh resident of Gorakhpur, UP, said they had come to take holy dip in the Kshipra river during Kumbh where her father died due to heat stroke.
She said they were returning with the body when the second tragedy struck them.
"We have registered a case and further investigation is on," the inspector added.