14 people injured as truck hits bus on Yamuna Expressway

Noida: At least 14 people were injured when a UP Roadways bus carrying about 45 passengers was hit by a speeding truck on the Yamuna Expressway in Dankaur, Greater

Noida: At least 14 people were injured when a UP Roadways bus carrying about 45 passengers was hit by a speeding truck on the Yamuna Expressway in Dankaur, Greater Noida, on Friday night. The police said that the incident took place around 11.30pm when the truck lost balance, hit the divider, and rammed into the bus on the other side of the carriageway.

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The state-run bus belonging to Shikohabad depot was going to Delhi via Agra from Lucknow, the police said, adding that the truck was going to Jewar from Greater Noida.

Anil Kumar Pandey, station house officer (SHO), Dankaur police station, said that the accident took place at about 13km from the zero point in Greater Noida.

“It appears that the truck driver dozed off behind the wheel and lost balance of the vehicle. The truck hit the divider first before crashing into the roadways bus on the other side,” the SHO said.

The truck driver and his helper were also injured in the accident, police officials said.

The bus passengers informed the police, and teams from Dankaur police station and Yamuna Expressway patrol reached the spot and rescued the victims, the officials said.

Pandey said that five of the 14 victims had received serious injuries. Some of the injured were identified as Shyam, Deenanath, Vickey, Akash, Raj Kumari, Yogesh Kumar, Anil Kumar, Laxmikant, Raju, Dharmendra Kumar, and Rampal. The victims have been admitted to a private hospital in Greater Noida.

The accident led to a traffic jam on the expressway for about half an hour, the officials said. However, the police personnel placed barricades and signalled other vehicles to stop to avoid a pile up. The police team later removed the two damaged vehicles from the spot and cleared the road.

According to the police, the passengers, who escaped unhurt, boarded other buses and left the spot while some others were picked up by their friends and relatives from the accident spot. Pandey said that the police have not received any complaint in this regard.

Last week, the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority had directed for reducing the speed limit on the Yamuna Expressway to 75 kmph from 100 kmph in view of foggy weather conditions. This has come into force from December 15 and will continue till February 15.