In a tragic incident, 10 persons were killed and over 25 injured when a private bus collided with a truck in Lakhimpur Kheri district early Wednesday morning.

Some of the grievously injured were referred to Lucknow for treatment, local officials who rushed to the spot confirmed.

Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have expressed grief at the loss of lives and directed officials to provide treatment to the injured.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was distressed by the accident and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of the deceased. Those injured would receive a compensation of Rs 50,000 each, his office said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, as soon as the incident was reported, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief and directed senior officers to reach the spot and provide proper care and treatment to the injured.

"Chief Minister Shri @myogiadityanath Ji Maharaj has condoled the loss of lives due to road accident in the Lakhimpur Kheri district. Maharaj ji has directed the senior officers to immediately go to the spot and conduct relief and rescue operations and make proper arrangements for the treatment of the injured," the CMO tweeted in Hindi.

"Expressing his condolences to the bereaved family members, Maharaj ji (Yogi Adityanath) has wished for the speedy recovery of the injured," the tweet further read.

Reports said that the bus carrying about 60 passengers was heading from Dhaurahra in Lakhimpur Kheri district to Lucknow when the accident occurred. All the injured were rushed to a district hospital while some others were referred to Lucknow for further treatment, said Lakhimpur Kheri’s Additional District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar.

The bus was on its way to Lucknow from Dhaurhara when it collided with a mini truck coming from the opposite direction on Aira bridge on National Highway 730, Deputy Superintendent of Police Pritam Pal Singh said.

The toll was likely to rise, he added.

On receiving information, the police reached the spot and rescued the injured after cutting the bus with a gas cutter, he said.

The injured were sent to the district hospital and efforts were on to identify the deceased, the DSP added.

Meanwhile, in another incident, three persons, including an innocent girl, were killed and 34 others were injured when the tractor-trolley they were travelling in was hit by a truck on Ayodhya highway in Barabanki district on Wednesday morning, police said.

Six persons with serious injuries were referred to the King George’s Medical University Trauma Centre in Lucknow while the rest were undergoing treatment at the district hospital.

The accident occurred near Kotwa overbridge.

A few residents of Katka village were on their way to an event in Ram Sanehi Ghat when the speeding truck hit their tractor-trolley from behind.

Reports said that the ‘mundan’ ceremony of Bittu, daughter of Ramkaran, a resident of Lambauva village of Ram Sanehi Ghat police station area, was fixed for Wednesday. To attend the ceremony, Ramkaran's in-laws had come on a tractor-trolley from Katka police station Ramnagar and they all left by the same tractor-trolley for Katka on Wednesday morning. 

On the way, a truck collided with the tractor-trolley near Kotwa road in Ram Sanehi Ghat police station area on Lucknow-Ayodhya highway. 

Ramkaran's mother-in-law Malti Devi (50), Nanku's wife Shanti Devi (35) and Manoj's daughter Shubhi (5) died on the spot while around 34 people were injured in the accident.

Traffic on the highway was also disrupted for some time after the accident. The truck driver fled the scene, leaving his vehicle a little distance away from the accident site, the police added.

In another accident in Hardoi, three people riding a motorcycle died after being hit by a speeding truck.

Police reached the spot on getting information and sent the bodies for post-mortem.

Surprisingly, the police present at the spot parked a backhoe (JCB) on the path to stop the truck but the driver managed to flee with the vehicle after hitting the JCB. The cops, however, chased him and managed to intercept the truck on Gausganj road.

The incident took place near Nanakheda village of Sandila Kotwali area.

The three motorcycle riders were working as labourers and were going back to their homes after work when the speeding truck hit them late Tuesday evening.