Four persons were killed and as many seriously injured as low visibility caused a road accident involving three vehicles in the Bikaner district even as fog and winter rains in many parts in Rajasthan affected normal life and rail and air services.
A report from Bikaner said that four persons were killed and an equal number suffered grave injuries when a speeding truck trailer hit two stationary vehicles the fog covered Bharatmala Highway along Napasar in the Bikaner district late Thursday night.
The police team reached the accident site, escorted the injured to a nearby hospital and the bodies of the deceased to the mortuary for postmortem. The police said the low visibility caused by the fog was the reason behind the accident.
The dense fog and mild drizzling to moderate rains continued to keep the day temperatures low at most of the places as the overcast skies still prevented fall in the mercury last night. This makes chilly weather a bit comfortable at night, however, keeps people shivering during the day too. Desert towns of Jaisalmer (7.7 degree C) and Bikaner (7.8 degree C) remained the coldest last night. Phalodi, Barmer and Ajmer too remained the most cold infested cities during the past 24 hours.
The weather-caused low visibility also adversely affected rail traffic and flight schedules of airlines. Many long-route trains, mainly from places of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, were running hours behind the schedule.
The air services were also affected. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s special plane was made to hover around in the Udaipur skies for 20 minutes in the want of the ATC clearance for the landing at the Maharana Pratap Dabok airport this afternoon. ATC could not give clearance in view of the low visibility. Singh was flying from New Delhi to Udaipur to take part in a function organised by the Bhupal Nobles Institutions to mark their 104th foundation day.