World champion powerlifter Saksham Yadav who had been undergoing treatment after a car accident in Delhi that killed four other powerlifters, succumbed to his injuries on Sunday.
Four other powerlifters with Yadav were killed when their car met with an accident near the Singhu border in outer Delhi's Alipur area on early on Sunday morning. Another occupant of the car is in hospital with injuries.
Another fatal accident due to fog in #Delhi which caused death of 5 sportsman including Powerlifting World Champion #SakshamYadav . Rest In Peace. #DelhiWinters #fog #Delhipollution pic.twitter.com/hegq4pIOpp
— Rima Barua (@rima_barua) January 7, 2018
Yadav, who had won the title for India in Moscow in 2016, died on Sunday evening.
Here's what happened
The mishap took place at around 4 am when the sportsmen were returning to Delhi in their Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire car after attending an athletic meet in Panipat.
According to reports, preliminary investigations have revealed that the car was speeding and the driver lost control of the vehicle.
Delhi: Four powerlifting players killed & two injured in a road accident due to fog conditions at Sindhu border in #Delhi ;Visuals from the spot pic.twitter.com/6Tam7H1UXm
— ANI (@ANI) January 7, 2018
According to the Times of India, the vehicle lost control while overtaking another car, following which, it rammed into a pole and overturned. The report also quoted eyewitnesses as saying that the vehicle toppled several times before coming to a halt.
DCP (Rohini) Rajneesh Gupta said the deceased have been identified as Tikamchand alias Tinka (27), Saurabh (18), Yogesh (24) and Harish Roy (20). Twenty-three-year-old Rohit is in hospital with injuries.
Drunken driving suspected
Meanwhile, it is reported that the six passengers were celebrating Rohit's birthday and had been drinking alcohol.
"The incident came to light after we received information from passerby regarding accident near Singhu Border at around 4.14 am on Sunday. We immediately rushed to the spot and found that one Maruti Swift DZire car bearing number DL 4 CAU 9585 met with an accident near Petrol Pump, while going towards Haryana's Karnal when they were celebrating Rohit's birthday," Gupta told The Indian Express.
Police are also probing the angle of drunken driving. The impact of the accident was so brutal that the roof of the car was completely blown off.
Yadav had been admitted to the Max Hospital in Shalimar Bagh and Rohit is being treated at the LNJP Hospital. The deaths have come as huge blow to the families of the deceased.
Family of Powerlifting athlete Tikamchand who died along with 3 other athletes in a road accident in early morning hours nr Delhi's Sindhu border.Tikamchand's sister says he had called last night to say he was coming home.In early morning hours we came to know about the accident. pic.twitter.com/PFdJkHzbdO
— ANI (@ANI) January 7, 2018
