Jagran Correspondent: A private sleeper bus collided with a car and fell off the Agra-Lucknow Expressway in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao on Wednesday, killing five people and injuring 17 others, police said. Two children are among those killed. The accident occurred around 4.30 am near Devkhari village under the Bangarmau police station area at kilometre marker 230 of the expressway. The driver of the bus reportedly dozed off after which the vehicle went out of control and hit the ill-fated car.
Bus was travelling from Haryana to Bihar
According to police, the sleeper bus, which was travelling from Haryana to Bihar, collided with an Ertiga car coming from the opposite direction. Following the impact, the bus went out of control, broke through the expressway railing and fell onto the road below, while the car was extensively damaged.
The car occupants, identified as Dhunmun (60), Anju (40), Divya (6), Amrita (13) and driver Vinod (45), died on the spot, police said.
Four other occupants of the car and four passengers travelling in the bus sustained injuries and were admitted to hospital, where they are undergoing treatment.
Bangarmau Circle Officer Harsh Modi said preliminary investigation suggested that the bus driver may have dozed off, leading to the accident. He said the exact cause of the mishap was being investigated.
8 killed as bus catches fire after ramming truck in Dausa
In a separate incident on Wednesday, at least eight people were killed and 24 injured after a bus rammed into a truck and caught fire on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Rajasthan''s Dausa district. The accident occurred near Dhanawda in the Kolwa police station area.
Dausa SP Piyush Dixit told PTI that five persons were burnt alive, two died on the spot due to severe head injuries, while one succumbed to burn injuries at a hospital. "The bus belonging to Hans Travels was heading to Indore from Rishikesh when it collided with a truck moving ahead of it on the expressway," the SP said.
The impact of the collision triggered a fire in both vehicles, causing panic among the passengers. Police and administrative officials rushed to the spot after receiving information about the accident and launched a rescue operation. The injured were shifted to hospital, while the bodies were sent for post-mortem examination. District Magistrate Ghanshyam Meena and Superintendent of Police Jai Prakash Singh visited the accident site and directed officials to ensure necessary action.
(With inputs from PTI)