At least five people, including two children, were killed and 14 others were injured in two separate road accidents in Uttar Pradesh late on Tuesday night, police said.
In Ayodhya district, two passengers were killed and nine others were injured after a Uttar Pradesh Roadways bus collided with a stationary trailer truck on the Lucknow-Gorakhpur National Highway near Zuberganj market shortly after midnight on Wednesday.
Police said the Rapti Nagar depot bus was travelling from Lucknow to Gorakhpur when it rammed into the parked trailer late at night. The impact completely crushed the front portion of the bus and several passengers were thrown from their seats.
The Rounahi police, assisted by local residents, launched a rescue operation and pulled out the passengers. The injured were taken to a nearby hospital. Eight of them were discharged after first aid, while one is undergoing treatment.
The deceased were identified as Sabir (54), a resident of Parewatar in Kushinagar district, and Suresh Kumar (43), a resident of Gomti Nagar in Lucknow. The bodies have been sent for postmortem examination.
Police said preliminary investigation suggests overspeeding may have caused the accident. Efforts are underway to trace the trailer driver. Traffic movement on the highway remained disrupted for some time before police restored normal flow.
Rounahi station house officer (SHO) Lalchand Saroj said no formal complaint had been received so far and further legal action would follow after a written complaint is filed.
{{/usCountry}}Rounahi station house officer (SHO) Lalchand Saroj said no formal complaint had been received so far and further legal action would follow after a written complaint is filed.
{{/usCountry}}In another accident, three members of a family were killed and five others were injured after their Scorpio SUV rammed into a tractor-trolley stationed on the Ganga Expressway near Salon in Rae Bareli district around 10:30 pm.
The family was travelling from Noida to Seelampur village in Jaunpur district to attend a Ramayan programme when the accident occurred.
The deceased were identified as Saroj Singh (60), her granddaughter Samriddhi Singh (7), and another family member, Sangeeta Singh (17). The injured included Gurcharan Singh (36), Neeraj Singh (42), Savita Singh (38), Pratibha Singh (32), and five-year-old Samarth Singh, whose condition is stated to be critical.
Police said the collision was so severe that the Scorpio was badly mangled and all the occupants got trapped inside. Rescue personnel had to cut open the vehicle doors to pull out the injured passengers.
The family is from Jaunpur district but resides in Delhi’s Saket area near IGNOU Road, police officers said.
Preliminary findings indicate the SUV was travelling at a speed of over 100 kmph when the driver suddenly noticed the tractor-trolley parked on the expressway and lost control of the vehicle. The injured were initially taken to Sangramgarh Community Health Centre in neighbouring Pratapgarh district before being referred to AIIMS Rae Bareli.