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18 killed, 19 injured as bus rams into milk tanker on Agra-Lucknow Expressway
The deceased include 14 men, three women and a child; PM Modi announces ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh for next of kin of each deceased, injured to be given ₹50000
UNNAO Eighteen people, including three women and one child, were killed and 19 injured when a double-decker sleeper bus allegedly rammed into a milk tanker on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway, in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, officials said.
The incident near Jojikot village in Behta Mujhawar police station area took place around 5am, when the bus tried to slip between the milk tanker, which was on the right-most lane of the expressway, and a stationary truck that broke down in the centre of the road.
The bus, which officials alleged was speeding, rammed into the milk tanker, ripping through the vehicle. The bus scraped along its side and threw several passengers out of the windows, before the two vehicles turned turtle, officials aware of the details explained.
The bus was travelling from Motihari in Bihar to Delhi when the accident occurred. Eyewitnesses also claimed the driver of the bus, with 57 passengers onboard, was speeding all night.
“Eighteen people died and 19 were injured in the accident. A probe has been launched into the matter. It appears that the bus was speeding when it hit the tanker from behind,” district magistrate Gaurang Rathi said.
According to Lucknow additional director general of police S B Shiradkar, the deceased comprised 14 men, three women and a child. The drivers of both the vehicles were among the deceased.
“So far, the identities of 16 deceased have been confirmed. The bodies are kept in the morgue of the district hospital,” Unnao superintendent of police (SP) Shiddharth Shankar Meena said, adding that police have been their probe into the accident.
Dr Samir Mishra of King George Medical University trauma centre said five people admitted in the facility are in a critical condition.
People aware of the details said the bus’s fitness certificate expired on January 1, 2021, its tax validity on November 30, 2023, insurance on February 13, 2024, permit on January 2, 2024, and pollution certificate on April 15, 2024. It has at least 80 challans pending.
Survivors said they were sleeping and were awakened by loud commotion in the crash.
“The bus was travelling at a high speed. Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and I was thrown out of the bus onto the road. Bodies were lying everywhere, there was chaos...I was crying and people were searching for their loved ones. Eventually, others arrived and took me to the hospital,” Shabana, a passenger, said.
“We were both asleep when suddenly we heard a commotion as if there was an aandhi (storm) and toofan (hurricane). Somehow, my daughter and I managed to get out of the vehicle,” another survivor Raushan said.
While President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives in the accident, chief minister Yogi Adityanath assured best treatment for the injured. Modi announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh for the families of the deceased.
In a post on X, Adityanath said “district administration officials have been instructed to speed up the relief work”.
Political parties also extended their condolences and urged the administration to provide assistance to the affected families.
“The news of the death of 18 people in a tragic road accident on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway in Unnao, UP, is extremely saddening… The administration is requested to leave no stone unturned in helping the victims,” Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge wrote on the micro-blogging site.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi urged workers of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) to “cooperate with the administration in relief and rescue operations”.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the government of “negligence” . “It is a matter of investigation that despite the presence of a dedicated parking zone on the expressway, why was a vehicle parked in the middle of the road?” he said.
