18 killed, 25 injured after truck hits bus in UP

The private bus was carrying over 130 passengers to Bihar from Punjab and Haryana, they said.The axle of the bus broke and it was parked on the road when a speeding truck coming from behind hit it, killing 18 people and injuring 25 others, the police said.Some passengers were standing or resting outside the bus and others were sitting inside when the accident took place.

At least 18 people were killed and 25 injured after a truck rammed into a stationary double-decker bus here amid heavy rain, police said on Wednesday.

The accident took place on the Lucknow-Ayodhya highway under the Kotwali Ramsanehighat area late on Tuesday night. The private bus was carrying over 130 passengers to Bihar from Punjab and Haryana, they said.

The axle of the bus broke and it was parked on the road when a speeding truck coming from behind hit it, killing 18 people and injuring 25 others, the police said.

Some passengers were standing or resting outside the bus and others were sitting inside when the accident took place. While 11 people died on the spot, seven died on the way to the hospital, they said.

The victims, mostly laborers from Bihar, were returning home after sowing paddy in Punjab and Haryana, the police said.

Police rushed to the spot after receiving information about the accident and the rescue operation was carried out with the help of locals. The injured were rushed to a local hospital and from there those with serious injuries were referred to the trauma center in Lucknow, Additional Director General of Police, Lucknow Zone, S N Sabat said.

It was raining heavily when the accident took place and this posed some problems in the rescue operation, he said.

Recalling the fateful night, bus passengers Sitaram and Mauji Lal, said they were saved as they had stepped out of the vehicle while a mechanic was repairing the axle.

''The axle of the bus broke in the night and a mechanic had come to repair it. Almost half of the passengers got down from the bus because of the heat. We were saved as we had crossed the road and were standing on the other side when the truck hit the bus,'' said.

For Sanjay Mandal, another passenger, it was a routine work trip that turned into a tragedy. He lost his father and cousin in the accident.

Another passenger Bharat Sada said three of his associates were seriously injured in the accident.

''Like every year, we had gone to work in agricultural fields in Punjab and were on our way back home,'' he said.

Some passengers were sitting at a little distance from the bus as they waited for the repair work to be completed. When the truck hit the bus, some of them were dragged for some distance, recalled another passenger.

A resident who witnessed the accident said it was a very gory sight.

About 15 people were dead and 20-25 others were lying injured on the road, he said.

Superintendent of Police Yamuna Prasad said families of the passengers can call on helpline number 9454417464 to enquire about them.

Those skilled in the accident are from Bihar's Sitamarhi, Madhepura, Supaul, and Saharsa districts, he said.

So far, he said, 12 of the deceased have been identified as Suresh Yadav (35), Indal Mahto (25), Sikandar Mukhiya (40), Monu Sahani (30), Jagdish Sahani (40), Jai Bahadur Sahani (40), Baijnathram (55), Balram Mandal (55), Santosh Singh (30), Bouwa (24), Naresh (37) and Akhilesh Mukhiya (30).

Efforts are on to ascertain the identity of the remaining victims, Prasad said.

He said nine critically injured passengers have been referred to the Lucknow trauma center and one injured is undergoing treatment at the district hospital in Barabanki. Fifteen others have been discharged from hospitals after treatment.

The bodies are being handed over to the families of the deceased after conducting post-mortem examination, he added.

In Lucknow, Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Awanish Awasthi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath about the accident and extended his condolences to the families of the deceased.

The CM has also expressed his condolences and directed the district magistrate and the superintendent of police of Barabanki to provide the best medical care to the injured and make proper arrangements for taking other passengers of the bus to their destinations, Awasthi said.

Modi has also announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund for the families of the deceased. The injured would be given Rs 50,000 each.

A government spokesperson said the CM has directed ministers Ashutosh Tandon and Mahendra Singh to visit the Lucknow trauma center to oversee the treatment of the victims. Political leaders including Bahujan Samajwadi Party president Mayawati, UPCC president Ajay Kumar Lallu and AAP MP Sanjay Singh took to Twitter to express grief over the loss of lives in the accident.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)