7 children among 11 dead as pilgrims’ pickup slams into parked truck in Rajasthan’s Dausa

An early-morning pilgrimage turned into a devastating tragedy on August 13 when a pickup van carrying devotees rammed into a stationary truck in Rajasthan’s Dausa district, killing 11 people — including seven children — and injuring eight others.

Police said the accident occurred between 4 and 5 am on the Manoharpur highway, when the pickup, returning to Etah in Uttar Pradesh from the Khatu Shyam and Salasar Balaji temples, slammed into the parked truck in the service lane.

Dausa Superintendent of Police Sagar confirmed that the dead included four women, while one of the injured remains in critical condition. The ill-fated vehicle had 20 passengers on board at the time of the crash.

The impact of the collision was so severe that rescuers had to work frantically to pull victims from the mangled vehicle, as distraught relatives and onlookers gathered at the scene. Authorities are investigating whether driver fatigue or low visibility contributed to the accident.