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43 injured in two separate bus accidents on Agra-Lucknow Expressway
The two accidents took place within about 15 minutes of each other in the Bangarmau and Behta Mujawar police station areas.
: Forty-three passengers were injured after two private buses met with separate accidents on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway in Unnao early on Sunday. Police said 32 of the injured, who sustained serious injuries, were referred to higher medical facilities.
The two accidents took place within about 15 minutes of each other in the Bangarmau and Behta Mujawar police station areas. The incidents prompted a swift response from ambulances, police and emergency teams, who rushed to the accident sites and the Bangarmau Community Health Centre (CHC).
The first accident occurred at around 4:45 am near Devkhari village in the Bangarmau area. A private bus travelling from Delhi to Gonda with around 65 passengers crashed into the rear of a truck after its driver, Ashiq Khan, reportedly fell asleep while driving. Khan and seven passengers were injured in the collision.
Around 15 minutes later, at about 5 am, another private bus carrying nearly 60 passengers from Delhi to Lucknow overturned near Shadipur village in the Behta Mujawar area. Police said the driver, Ankit, had reportedly dozed off. The bus broke through the aluminium crash barrier and plunged nearly 15 feet into a ditch. The driver and the conductor, Adarsh, were among the 35 people injured in the accident.
“The two accidents occurred within a short interval. Around 40 people were injured and those with serious injuries were referred to the district hospital,” said Akhilesh Chandra Pandey, station house officer (SHO), Bangarmau.
The Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) response team, along with the police, reached both accident sites and launched rescue operations. All the injured were taken to Bangarmau CHC, where doctors and medical staff provided treatment. After initial medical examination, 32 passengers with serious injuries were referred to higher medical facilities for further treatment.
Police said both accidents appeared to have been caused by the drivers falling asleep at the wheel. The crashes also briefly disrupted traffic on the expressway. Traffic movement returned to normal after the damaged vehicles were removed. The injured passengers were from Ayodhya, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Agra, Barabanki, Firozabad, Delhi and Nepal.
