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15 passengers injured as two buses collide on Yamuna Expressway
Noida: At least 15 people were injured when a private bus and a stationary bus collided on the Yamuna Expressway, five kilometres from Zero Point in Greater Noida,
Noida: At least 15 people were injured when a private bus and a stationary bus collided on the Yamuna Expressway, five kilometres from Zero Point in Greater Noida, in the wee hours of Saturday. Police said there were 70 to 80 passengers each on the buses, both of which were headed towards Delhi.
According to the police, one of the buses had halted on the expressway for a change of drivers when the other bus allegedly hit it from behind. The stationary bus, owned by Brahma Bus Service, was coming from Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharthanagar district while the moving bus, owned by Shri Krishna Tour and Travels, Delhi was coming from Auraiya. The victims were admitted to two hospitals in Greater Noida, and later two injured persons were shifted to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi.
Sujeet Upadhyaya, station house officer, Sector Beta 2 police station, said there were around 70 passengers in the Siddharthanagar-Delhi bus. “The driver was allegedly feeling drowsy and he halted the vehicle on the extreme left lane near the Chuharpur underpass for a change of drivers. Around 5am, a Delhi-bound bus from Auraiya allegedly hit the stationary bus from the rear,” he said.
Manoj Yadav, owner of the Auraiya-Delhi bus, said he received information about the accident at 7am. “It appears our driver took a nap on the driving seat when the accident took place. We are searching for him,” he said.
Naseem Ahmad, in-charge, AWHO police check post, said he reached the spot after getting information. “There were around 150 passengers in the two buses. The accident was severe and a total of 15 passengers were injured,” he said. The injured persons in the bus coming from Auraiya are Virendra, 50, and his wife Rajkumari, 45; Shalini, 50 and her daughter Jyoti, 20; Dhariwal, 45, and his wife Suman, 41; Yatendra, 39, all of whom are residents of Auraiya.”
The injured victims in the bus coming from Siddharthanagar are Rajeshwar Singh, 40, and Ashok Kumar Singh, 35; Rajesh Singh, 45, and his wife Vimlesh, 40; Bhupendra, 30, all of whom are residents of Delhi, apart from Surendra Kumar, 20, and Ram Vriksha, 34, residents of Siddharthanagar, and Ankita, 25, a resident of Etawah in Uttar Pradesh.
Police said nine persons were admitted to Kailash Hospital while six persons were admitted to the Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS). Dr Meenakshi, casualty medical officer at Kailash Hospital said the patients were moved in at 5.30am. “They had received minor injuries, bruises and shock; they were discharged after treatment,” she said.
A GIMS official said two persons – Rajesh Singh and Bhupendra – were referred to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi since they had received serious injuries on their heads and bodies.
Upadhyaya said the drivers of both the buses fled after the accident. “We have seized both buses and are trying to trace the drivers,” he said.
The owner of the Siddharthanagar-Delhi bus was not available for comments.
Police later arranged another bus and facilitated the passengers’ journey to Delhi. No complaint has been received in this regard so far, said officers.
