Phalodi Accident: Who knew it would be last selfie, 15 devotees killed as mini-bus crashes into stationary trailer

Jodhpur: 15 devotees died when a mini-bus collided with a stationary trailer near Hanuman Sagar on the Bharatmala Highway in the Phalodi district of Rajasthan on Sunday evening at 7 PM.

Two women are critically injured. All the passengers were residents of the Nanchi Bagh area of Sur Sagar and were neighbours.

They were returning from Kolayat in Bikaner district when a terrible road accident occurred in the Hanuman Sagar area on the Bharatmala Highway in Matoda. Among the deceased are 4 children, the driver, and 10 women.

According to information, 12 women and four children from Nanchi Bagh, Sur Sagar, had gone for a Kartik bath in the pond of Kolayat's Kapil Muni Ashram in Bikaner district on Dev Uthani Ekadashi. The women had also taken group photos there. However, little did they know that it would be their last selfie. On the night of Tulsi Ekadashi, the news of the accident, which arrived with the illuminated courtyard of Nanchi Bagh, Sur Sagar, plunged the entire neighbourhood into darkness.

Visited Sachchiyay Mata Temple in Osian

Before the accident, all the women had taken photos in a cheerful atmosphere. They visited the Sachchiyay Mata Temple in Osian and then proceeded towards Kolayat in a mini tourist bus. After taking a bath on Dev Uthani Ekadashi, they had departed for Jodhpur on Sunday afternoon.

Relatives Collapsed Upon Seeing the Bodies of Their Loved Ones

A crowd gathered at the scene after the accident. Considerable effort was required to extricate the injured and the bodies trapped in the tempo traveller. Even as people helped the injured, tears streamed down their faces. Residents stated that they had never witnessed such a major accident at this location before. Upon receiving the information, relatives also arrived at the scene and collapsed upon seeing the bodies of their loved ones. Everyone was inconsolable, weeping uncontrollably.

Among the deceased were 10 women and four children

A trailer was parked on the Bharatmala Highway in the Hanuman Sagar area of Matoda. At 7 PM, a mini-bus collided with the rear of the stationary trailer. The accident was so severe that the front of the bus was completely mangled, resulting in the on-the-spot deaths of 10 women, four children, and the driver. Two other women sustained serious injuries. Seven of the deceased belonged to the same family.