NEW DELHI, Jun 9 (NNN-PTI) – At least 17 people were killed and several others injured, some of them critically, after a bus collided with a loader vehicle, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, police said today.
The accident took place late last night, at Kisan Nagar, in Kanpur Nagar district, about 110 km south-west of Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh.
“Late last evening there was a collision between a speeding bus and a loader, following which the bus overturned and fell into a ditch,” a senior police official in Kanpur, Mohit Aggarwal, told media. “Sixteen were declared dead at the hospital, while one succumbed during treatment.”
Several others injured in the accident have been removed to the nearest hospital.
“The collision was so strong that almost all passengers of the bus got trapped and sustained serious injuries,” a police official said. “The rescuers had to struggle hard to extricate victims from the damaged bus.”
The rescue work went on until early this morning. According to the police, the bus came from Lucknow heading towards Delhi.
Police said, the bus was carrying labourers who were heading to Gujarat for work, while those in the loader vehicle were workers working in a local biscuit factory.
Police have registered a case and said, a detailed investigation would be conducted to ascertain the cause of the deadly accident.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, expressed grief over the accident, and announced a compensation of INR 200,000 (2,740 U.S. dollars) to each family that lost a member in the accident.
Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, also expressed sadness over the loss of lives in the accident.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of INR 2 lakh (2,740 U.S. dollars) each, from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives. INR 50,000 (658 U.S. dollars) would be provided to those injured,” reads a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.
Deadly road accidents are common in India often caused by overloading, bad condition of roads and reckless driving. According to federal road transport and highways minister, Nitin Gadkari, an average of 415 people die in the country every day, due to road accidents.– NNN-PTI
