LUCKNOW: Four people were killed and more than 10 others injured after a truck collided head-on with a passenger bus on the Lumbini–Duddhi road near Hardiya village in Basti district under Kotwali police station limits in the wee hours of Tuesday.
According to police, the bus, carrying around 60 passengers, was travelling from Sant Kabir Nagar to Ajmer Sharif to attend the Urs when it was hit head-on by a speeding truck at around 11 pm. The impact was so severe that the front portions of both the bus and the truck were completely mangled, throwing several passengers onto the road and trapping many inside the wreckage.
Hearing the crash, local residents rushed to the spot and alerted the police. DIG Sanjeev Tyagi and District Magistrate Kritika Jyotsna also reached the accident site. Rescue operations were initially carried out by locals, who pulled out the injured before police and ambulance teams arrived.
Eyewitness Pawan Chaudhary said the scene was horrifying, with both vehicle cabins crushed. The truck driver remained trapped in his seat and succumbed to injuries after struggling for nearly 20 minutes. The bus driver and two front-seat passengers also suffered fatal injuries.
The deceased have been identified as Abdullah (60) and Mukhtar Ali (75) of Basti, Sandeep Pandey (32), the bus driver, and Shivraj Singh, the truck driver.
Among the injured are Jainab Khatoon, Asuran Nisha, Sehrun Nisha and Najma Khatoon of Sant Kabir Nagar; Shayara Bano (70) of Amroha; Sajrun Nisha, Jawwar Ali (80), Mohammad Naseem and Akhtar Ali (60) of Basti; and Chhedan Ali (70) of Gorakhpur.
The injured were rushed to the district hospital, where panic-like conditions prevailed.
Additional doctors and paramedical staff were called in from their homes. Hospital SIC Khalid Rizwan confirmed four deaths and said treatment of 11 injured was underway, with two critical patients referred to Gorakhpur Medical College.
DIG Tyagi said an investigation into the cause of the accident is underway.
Traffic, which was disrupted after the crash, has been restored after removal of the damaged vehicles.
Passengers with minor injuries were discharged after first aid.
When not covering crime, he reads fiction, roams around the dark ...
Read MoreWhen not covering crime, he reads fiction, roams around the dark alleys of the city in the dead of night. An MA (English Litt) from University of Lucknow, Pathikrit loves to speak French, well at least a smattering of it. He did his graduation in French language. A recipient of the Road Safety Fellowship of the United Nations, Pathikrit drives cautiously and advises others to do that too.
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