E-Paper
Death toll rises to 19 in Yamuna E-way tragedy; 2 hurt in another pile-up
The death toll from the Yamuna Expressway accident reaches 19, as additional pile-up reported on Agra-Jaipur highway.
With another death on Wednesday night, the toll in the Yamuna Expressway tragedy climbed to 19, even as another vehicle pile-up was reported amid dense fog on the Agra-Jaipur highway on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday.
Usman, 50, one of the 80 people injured in Tuesday’s massive pile-up on the Yamuna Expressway, died while undergoing treatment at SN Medical College and Hospital in Agra, confirmed Mathura district magistrate (DM) Chandra Prakash Singh.
The accident occurred in the early hours of Tuesday when eight buses and three cars piled up on the expressway due to poor visibility caused by dense fog. Several vehicles caught fire following the collision.
“Four deaths were initially confirmed based on bodies recovered at the site. However, the toll rose sharply after severely charred remains were found during a detailed search of the burnt buses,” the district magistrate said. By Tuesday night, the death toll had reached 13 and rose to 18 on Wednesday. The death of the injured man in Agra has now taken it to 19.
Singh said the process of identifying the deceased was underway. “A dozen samples have been collected for DNA matching, and four bodies have been identified so far,” he added.
Meanwhile, another pile-up involving six vehicles -- two buses, two cars and two trucks -- occurred near Kirawali town on the Agra-Jaipur highway on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. While locals claimed that about half a dozen people were injured, the office of the deputy commissioner of police (west), Agra Rural, confirmed injuries to two. The vehicles involved suffered damage.
Dense fog continued to envelop the Braj region, with no sunshine recorded in Mathura and Agra districts on Thursday, leading to a further drop in temperatures.
In view of the prevailing conditions, the Regional Transport Office in Mathura has issued an advisory urging motorists to exercise “extreme caution” while driving during the fog.
