6 students killed, 1 injured as car crashes into truck in Dehradun

Dehradun: Six students were killed and another was seriously injured when their car collided with a truck here in the early hours of Tuesday, police said.

The collision, which reduced the car to a mangled wreck, occurred around 1.30 am at the ONGC Chowk. The car rammed into the truck from behind and the six died on the spot, Circle Officer (City) Neeraj Semwal said.

Chief Miniser Pushkar Singh Dhami, who was on a visit to Uttarkashi and Rudraprayag, expressed grief at the loss of lives in the accident.

"The news of the death of six youths in a road accident in Dehradun is extremely heart-rending. I pray to God to grant the departed souls a place at his sacred feet and give strength to the bereaved families to bear the immense pain," he said.

The deceased students were identified as Kunal Kukreja (23), Atul Agrawal (24), Rishabh Jain (24), Navya Goel (23), Kamakshi (20), and Guneet (19). All of them were from Uttarakhand's Dehradun except Kukreja who hails from Himachal Pradesh.

The seventh occupant -- Siddhesh Agrawal (25) -- has been admitted to the Synergy Hospital in the city and is in a critical condition, he said.

It was not immediately clear which institution the students belonged to and where were the coming from late at night.

Semwal said the cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained, and they are examining CCTV footage from the area.