Thirteen people died and 35 were injured in a massive fire caused by a collision of vehicles on the Yamuna Expressway in the early hours of Tuesday.
At least seven buses and three small vehicles collided with each other around 4:30 am in dense fog, the police officer said. This incident occurred under the jurisdiction of Baldev police station.
Mathura Senior Superintendent of Police Shlok Kumar said, “The collision between vehicles took place due to low visibility on the stretch of Yamuna Expressway from Agra to Noida. Some vehicles also caught fire. All the injured have been sent to the hospital.”
Baldev Police Station SHO Ranjana Sachan said that two of the deceased have been identified as 44-year-old Akhilendra Pratap Yadav, resident of Prayagraj, and 75-year-old Rampal, resident of Maharajganj district. He told that all three died due to burning.
Sachan said that fifteen of the injured have been admitted to the district hospital, nine each to a community health center in Baldev and a private hospital and two to SN Medical College, Agra.
Pictures obtained from the scene showed burnt remains of the buses that had caught fire. Cranes were called to remove them from the road.
According to a statement issued by Mathura Police on Friday, seven buses and three small vehicles were involved in the accident which took place at Milestone 127. “None of the injured are in serious condition,” it said.
SSP said that the passengers were taken to their destination in government vehicles. He further said that due to road blockage, alternative routes have been made.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed his condolences to the family of the deceased through a post in Hindi.
He said, “The loss of life and property in the road accident on Yamuna Expressway in Mathura district is extremely sad and heartbreaking. My deepest condolences are with the families of the victims.”
Adityanath said, “I have directed the district administration officials to make arrangements for proper treatment of the injured. I pray to Lord Ram to grant peace to the departed souls and speedy recovery of the injured.”
According to a post from his office, Adityanath announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured.
On Monday, three people, including two police officers, were killed in two separate road accidents involving multiple vehicles in Haryana’s Sonipat and Nuh districts due to fog.
Two people, including a CISF inspector, died in a road accident in Nuh on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.
A woman assistant sub-inspector died in Sonipat when the car in which she was traveling to work collided with a truck taking a wrong turn on the highway, police said.