Low visibility leads to pile-up accidents in NCR, 4 die
According to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the collision began with a passenger bus ramming into a dumper truck as a result of the near-zero visibility. A car then crashed into the bus, with subsequent vehicles ploughing into the wreckage within minutes
With a blanket of smog over Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), visibility dropped to as low as 10 metres and at least four people were killed and 35 others were injured in several accidents on Monday morning.
More than 15 vehicles collided on Delhi-Mumbai Expressway due to dense fog near Raniyala village (HT)
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At least 18 vehicles were involved in a pile-up on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Haryana’s Nuh at 7.30 am, killing two people on the spot. According to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the collision began with a passenger bus ramming into a dumper truck as a result of the near-zero visibility. A car then crashed into the bus, with subsequent vehicles ploughing into the wreckage within minutes. “Within 15 minutes, nearly 18 vehicles had collided as visibility was barely 10–15 metres,” a senior NHAI official said.
Harish Sharma from Alwar, a 46-year-old CISF inspector, and 44-year-old Jaipur-based businessman Sheikh Mohammad Khalil died in the accident. More than 30 people were injured, with one in critical condition, police said.
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Barely 2km ahead of the crash site, another pile-up was reported due to foggy conditions, involving four vehicles. All occupants survived with injuries, police said.
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Barely 2km ahead of the crash site, another pile-up was reported due to foggy conditions, involving four vehicles. All occupants survived with injuries, police said.
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In a separate incident in Faridabad, two men were killed when a speeding Ford SUV rammed into a container truck parked illegally on the DND-Faridabad flyway around 8am. The victims were identified as Vishal Kumar, 31, and driver Sandeep Kumar, 24, both from Jaipur. Vishal’s friend Harsh, 25, was critically injured and later shifted to a private hospital. Police said visibility at the time was less than 10 metres.
Gurugram reported three fog-related accidents — on Southern Peripheral Road, Golf Course Extension Road and the KMP Expressway — though no fatalities were recorded.
DCP (Traffic) Rajesh Mohan said police had anticipated foggy conditions and deployed teams early. “We studied black spots and placed tyres at diversions and road conversions to slow vehicles and prevent sudden lane-cutting. Additional barricades were also installed at accident-prone stretches,” he said.
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In Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar, four people were left injured as multiple vehicles crashed into each other in the early hours of Monday on stretches of the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE).
A 10-vehicle pile-up was witnessed on the Ghaziabad stretch of EPE’s Dasna to Dadri carriageway, injuring three commuters around 7am. “A light commercial vehicle applied brakes due to dense fog on the stretch, leading to other vehicles getting involved in a pile-up. Three people were injured during the incident that happened due to low visibility,” said Sarvesh Kumar Pal, SHO of Wave City police station.
In Gautam Budh Nagar, a 24-year-old truck driver was critically injured after 10 vehicles crashed into each other in a chain collision in Greater Noida.
Leena Dhankhar is Senior Editor and Bureau Chief, Gurugram, at Hindustan Times, where she has spent over 17 years chronicling the transformation of one of India's fastest-growing urban regions. From starting her career as a crime reporter to leading the Gurugram bureau, her journalism has been defined by investigative reporting, in-depth storytelling and an unwavering focus on public interest.
Over nearly two decades, she has reported extensively across crime, politics, civic governance, elections, real estate, environment, courts, sports, education and entertainment, covering Gurugram, Faridabad, Nuh and Palwal. Her reporting has exposed several major scams and systemic failures, including insurance frauds, waste management irregularities, illegal arms manufacturing units in Nuh, illegal mining in the Aravallis, organised crime networks and governance lapses affecting millions of residents.
Known for her investigative work and exclusive stories, Leena has reported on high-impact national issues, including the Nicaragua charter flight carrying Indian migrants that was turned back amid allegations of human trafficking, exposing the growing network of illegal immigration rackets. Her work has also focused on gang wars, prison administration, juvenile crime, women and child protection systems, the functioning of the Juvenile Justice Board and Child Welfare Committee, and environmental challenges such as pollution, waterlogging and deteriorating civic infrastructure.
Beyond hard news, Leena has extensively documented Haryana's rich heritage, forests and wildlife, bringing attention to the state's historical landmarks, biodiversity, conservation efforts and ecological challenges through immersive reportage and feature writing.
Her journalism has consistently gone beyond breaking news. She has documented Gurugram's rapid urbanisation through long-form narratives and enterprise reporting on issues ranging from pothole-ridden roads, flooding and waste management to the changing social fabric of India's Millennium City. She also writes widely read feature columns, including The Outsider, Changemaker, and Concern for Gurugram, profiling people, places and ideas shaping the city's identity.
Leena is the author of Gurugram School Murder, published by Juggernaut Books, a deeply reported account of one of India's most high-profile school murder investigations. She is currently working on her second book, an investigative work exploring some of India's most significant scams and fraud investigations.
Beyond print journalism, she has expanded her storytelling through public speaking and digital media. She is a TEDx speaker and has produced podcasts exploring Gurugram's transformation, civic challenges and untold stories. Her work reflects a commitment to narrative journalism that combines rigorous reporting with compelling storytelling.
A law graduate with an MBA in Human Resources, Leena brings a multidisciplinary perspective to her reporting, particularly on governance, public policy and legal affairs. She has travelled extensively across India to pursue investigative assignments, often reporting from remote locations and conflict-prone areas in search of stories that matter.
Debashish Karmakar is a principal correspondent with the Hindustan Times, Gurugram bureau. He has a vast journalistic experience of almost 14 years of covering crime, court, power, transport, administration, weather and other beats while working across various organisations. He has been covering Gurugram, Faridabad, Nuh, Palwal and other districts of southern Haryana for more than four and a half years. He has produced several breaking and exclusive stories while reporting from the ground where he maintains a strong presence on a daily basis. He writes news articles which are hard-hitting and accurate. With his strong bureaucratic sources, he frequently writes stories to expose the failure of the system forcing authorities to take necessary course-corrective steps. Besides crime, important convictions and court orders, he also writes on human-angle stories, on power issues and challenges faced by the residents on a daily basis in Gurugram and neighbouring areas. In the past, he worked for media houses like The Times of India, where he extensively reported on important government matters and daily proceedings at the Patna High Court. He has also worked in the electronic media and had done ground coverage on the Kedarnath deluge that wrecked Uttarakhand in 2013.
Arun Singh covers crime, traffic, court and the transport department for Hindustan Times in Noida. He has a strong interest in developing in-depth stories that engage readers. Previously, he covered crime, traffic, infrastructure and soft beats for The Times of India in Bhopal for nearly five years. His reports are known for including details often missed by other publications.
