At least 23 devotees, including women and children, were injured in a major road accident around 3.15 am on Saturday. A bus and a pickup van collided in dense fog near Jogapur on the Ayodhya–Prayagraj highway, within the limits of Nagar Kotwali police station in Pratapgarh.
Police said the crash occurred when a bus attempting to overtake rammed into a Mahindra pickup from behind. The bus was carrying around 110 devotees traveling from Gonda to Prayagraj, while the pickup was carrying 33 devotees from Sant Kabir Nagar. All were en route to attend the Mauni Amavasya snan at the ongoing Magh Mela on January 18.
Raju, 32, a resident of Milan Khurd in Sant Kabir Nagar and one of the injured admitted to the district medical college, said everyone in the pickup suffered serious injuries. “The speeding bus hit us from behind, and our vehicle fell into a roadside ditch. Local villagers rushed out on hearing our screams and helped rescue us one by one. There were around six children and 20 women in the pickup,” he said.
Another injured devotee, Yashwant Prasad, 65, also sustained head injuries. “We were brought to the hospital by the police after the collision,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Another injured devotee, Yashwant Prasad, 65, also sustained head injuries. “We were brought to the hospital by the police after the collision,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Nagar Kotwali SHO Subhash Kumar Yadav said visibility on the highway was extremely poor due to dense fog at the time of the accident. “The bus driver fled the spot. The vehicle has been seized, and efforts are underway to trace the driver. Appropriate action will be taken,” he added.
Pratapgarh district magistrate Shiv Sahay Awasthi and superintendent of police Deepak Bhuker visited the medical college to check on the condition of the injured devotees. Doctors at the Pratapgarh medical college later referred one of the seriously injured victims to Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital in Prayagraj.