LUCKNOW: A road accident in Balrampur district late Wednesday night claimed the lives of five members of a family and left eight others seriously injured when a speeding truck rammed into an Ertiga car on National Highway-730 near Chakwa outpost under Kotwali Dehat police station limits.According to police, the victims were returning to Gonda district after attending a wedding in Shravasti when the accident occurred around 1 am. The car, carrying 13 passengers—all from the Itiathok area of Gonda—was struck from behind by a truck with such force that the car was completely mangled, its roof torn off and its front portion destroyed.Pintu, a relative of the victims, informed reporters that the group had left from their sister’s house in Itiathok around 7 pm on Wednesday to attend a wedding in Bhaluhia Veerpur village, located in the Ikauna area of Shravasti.Due to losing their way, they reached the venue around 11 pm and stayed for about an hour before heading back. The collision occurred near Chakwa around 1 am as they were returning home.Police said that the deceased have been identified as Ajay Kumar (35), maternal uncle of Pintu, Phool Babu (35), paternal uncle, Vijay Kumar (40), Shivkumar (22), cousin and Aditya (8), cousinAll were residents of the Itiathok area in Gonda district.

Eight other family members sustained serious injuries and were rushed to the district hospital in Balrampur.Most of the injured are stated to be in critical condition.Locals reached the scene immediately after the crash and helped in alerting the authorities.Police, along with the health department team, carried out rescue operations, using tools to cut through the wreckage and extricate the injured and dead from the vehicle.The truck was seized by the police, though the driver managed to flee the scene.The entire area was gripped in mourning, with grieving relatives struggling to come to terms with the sudden loss. Police have registered a case and launched an investigation. CCTV footage from nearby installations is being reviewed to determine the exact sequence of events leading to the fatal crash.Authorities confirmed that the identification process of the victims has been completed, and post-mortem examinations are underway.