45 wedding revellers killed

2008-04-24 12:06

New Delhi - At least 45 wedding revellers died in a road crash and a boat accident in India's Rajasthan and Maharashtra states, police and news reports said on Thursday.

Twenty-four people, including five children, were killed when the pick-up truck they were travelling in rammed into a lorry in the north-western state of Rajasthan on Wednesday night.

Three passengers were injured in the accident, near the Dechu village some 120km west of state capital Jaipur. The group was returning home after attending a wedding function in a nearby village.

"The pick-up, which was carrying 27 passengers, hit the lorry head-on," Bhanwar Singh, a local policeman said over the phone.

Singh said seventeen people died on the scene.

"Seven passengers succumbed to their injuries on way to the hospital. The victims belonged to one family and included seven women and five children," Singh said.

Police said they were investigating the cause of the accident.

Disaster struck another marriage party in the western state of Maharashtra some hours earlier on Wednesday night when a boat capsized, killing 21 people.

The IANS news agency reported that the boat capsized in the river Neera near Pune city, 115km south of India's financial capital of Mumbai.

Among the victims, 14 were said to be from the same family.

In its report, the PTI news agency said nine of the 28 people on the boat were rescued by villagers who rushed to the scene after hearing distress calls.

Quoting witnesses, the report said that the boat had tilted and lost its balance in deep water due to strong winds. Police and local authorities said they will continue the search for the missing bodies. - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA