Poor visibility from fog causes chain of accidents in Greater Noida, Faridabad

In Greater Noida, two men escaped with injuries after two cars caught fire following a chain collision due to dense fog on the Yamuna Expressway

Greater Noida/Gurugram: Poor visibility from dense fog caused another chain of severe accidents on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida, and the Delhi–Mathura National Highway in Faridabad, police officials said, adding that no fatalities were reported.

The driver of a Delhi-registered Hyundai Verna was travelling alone from Delhi to Ballabhgarh when the accident occurred (HT Photo)

In Greater Noida, two men escaped with injuries after two cars caught fire following a chain collision involving three vehicles due to dense fog on the Yamuna Expressway late Saturday night, police said on Sunday.

They added that firefighters doused the fire and the accidental vehicles were later removed from the main carriageway.

Police said on Saturday around 10.30 pm, when a Tata Punch was heading towards Noida on the Yamuna Expressway, a Tata Sumo, moving at a high speed, crashed into it due to dense fog near the 20-kilometre milestone. “Following the collision, another Hyundai Grand i10 crashed into the vehicles, but the driver of the i10 somehow managed to avoid a major collision and escaped without injuries or major damage to the vehicle,” said a police officer who rushed to the spot, requesting anonymity.

The officer added, “We received a call on the emergency helpline number 112 that two vehicles had caught fire following the accident. Fire tenders were immediately informed and, with their help, the fire was doused within an hour. However, both vehicles were completely gutted by the time the fire was controlled.”

It was suspected that due to a short circuit or some other reason, the fire erupted immediately after the accident, police said.

Meanwhile, dense fog late Saturday night on the Delhi–Mathura National Highway in Faridabad led to two severe accidents in the high-speed corridor, police said, adding no casualties have been reported.

The first incident took place around 11pm when a speeding Hyundai Verna car lost balance, overturned multiple times and crashed into the railing near the Sector 28 Metro Station, officials privy to the matter said. Preliminary investigations revealed that the driver had applied the brakes while navigating a steep turn when another vehicle was overtaking him, leading to the accident.

Following information received from passersby, a team of Faridabad police was immediately dispatched to the spot. While police personnel, assisted by residents, were attempting to rescue the driver trapped inside the overturned car, another car, a Maruti Suzuki Swift belonging to a passerby who had stopped to witness the incident, was hit from behind by another car.

The driver of a Delhi-registered Hyundai Verna was travelling alone from Delhi to Ballabhgarh when the accident occurred. The other vehicle, a Maruti Suzuki Swift bearing an Uttar Pradesh registration number, was being driven by a lone occupant who was travelling from Chandigarh towards Faridabad.

Police said both drivers were subjected to sobriety checks and were found not to be under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident. Both sustained minor injuries and were administered first aid at the spot. No hospitalisation was required, officials added.

The official cited weather conditions as a contributing factor. The India Meteorological Department has forecast dense to very dense fog at isolated places in the region, including Faridabad, on Monday.