Five people, including two siblings aged three months and eight years, were killed and five others injured after a sand-laden dumper rammed a tempo near Bamnetta village in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district on Sunday morning, police said.
The accident took place around 9am, nearly 2km from the district headquarters, on the Agra-Moradabad National Highway. The collision was so severe that the front portion of the tempo was badly damaged, trapping its driver inside. The dumper went out of control after the crash, hit a roadside tree and overturned.
Eyewitnesses told local police that the tempo was travelling in its lane when an e-rickshaw moving ahead suddenly took a U-turn. The dumper, coming from the opposite direction, allegedly swerved to avoid the e-rickshaw before ramming the tempo. The impact threw the tempo nearly 10 feet away, witnesses said.
Locals helped move the injured away from the wreckage. Bahjoi station house officer (SHO) Rajeev Kumar Malik and a police team reached the spot shortly afterwards.
The injured were taken by ambulance to the Bahjoi community health centre, where doctors declared four people dead. Another victim later died during treatment, police officers said.
{{/usCountry}}The injured were taken by ambulance to the Bahjoi community health centre, where doctors declared four people dead. Another victim later died during treatment, police officers said.
{{/usCountry}}Police identified the deceased as tempo driver Saudan Pal (40), his associate Ruvaid (30), three-month-old Aaradhya, her eight-year-old brother Dhruv, and their 20-year-old maternal aunt Rohini.
Five other people injured in the accident were sent to hospital for treatment, police said.
In a post on X, Sambhal police said the injured had been sent to hospital for treatment, while the bodies of the deceased were subjected to inquest proceedings and sent for post-mortem examination.
The damaged tempo and overturned dumper were removed from the highway to restore normal traffic movement. Police said further action would follow on the basis of the investigation. “Traffic is continuing smoothly and further legal proceedings are underway,” the police said in the post.
Police have begun examining the circumstances leading to the crash.