Punjab: 8 killed as family traveling to immerse relative’s ashes meets with tragic highway crash
Babushahi Bureau
Ferozepur/Fazilka (Punjab), June 6, 2026: What began as a family's final journey to bid farewell to a loved one ended in a devastating tragedy on Saturday morning when a pickup carrying relatives from Malakzade village in Jalalabad met with a horrific accident on the Ferozepur-Fazilka highway.
Eight people, including a 13-year-old girl, were killed and nine others seriously injured after the vehicle collided head-on with a trailer near Hussain Shah village.
The family, comprising around 25 to 30 members, was travelling to Dera Beas to immerse the ashes of a deceased relative when the accident occurred around 5:30 a.m.
The impact was so severe that several passengers seated above the pickup's cabin were hurled onto the oncoming trailer, with some reportedly smashing through its windshield. The crash left a trail of devastation on the highway, with victims and wreckage scattered across the road.
Police and emergency teams rushed to the scene, while Bhupinder Singh oversaw rescue operations. The bodies were sent for post-mortem examination at a government hospital in Ferozepur, while nine critically injured victims were referred to Faridkot Medical College and Hospital.
Police have registered a case and launched an investigation into the cause of the crash. The tragedy has plunged Malakzade village into mourning, turning a solemn farewell into one of the region's deadliest road accidents in recent months.