In a tragic road accident in Gorakhpur, six people were killed and over 25 others were injured when a speeding DCM truck crushed several passengers boarding on a roadways bus on a highway near Jagdishpur on Thursday night.

According to police, the bus was parked at the roadside after it broke down. Some passengers got off the bus while the others remained seated inside when the truck hit the bus and ran over the passengers, killing two on the spot. Four others succumbed during treatment at a hospital.

Superintendent of Police (City) Krishan Kumar said the truck had been seized and police were searching for its driver.

More than 30 passengers were on board the bus going to Padrauna in Kushinagar from Gorakhpur, police said.

Mubarak Ansari, a passenger, said the bus was full of passengers and suddenly one of its tyres burst. However, the driver somehow controlled the vehicle. He spoke to the depot and called for another bus and the passengers were waiting for the bus.

“Suddenly with a loud sound, something hit the bus and people started crying for help. At first, we were not able to understand, but later we realised that a truck had hit the bus from behind,” he said.

Four of the deceased were identified as Shailesh Patel (25), Suresh Chauhan (35), Nitesh Singh (25) and Himanshu Yadav (24), all of Kushinagar.

Reports said that soon after getting information about the accident, the officers alerted the doctors of Sadar Hospital and Medical College. Doctors were called after a large number of injured arrived. Five ambulances reached the accident site and took the injured to Sadar hospital and medical college hospital.

Among the 25 injured passengers, Mubarak Ansari of Kasya, Samna Chaudhary and Rambilas Jaiswal of Kubersthan, Ravinder Singh and Harsh Tiwari of Padrauna, Abhishek Tiwari, Sonu Gaur and Ramdev of Hanumanganj were admitted to the district hospital. Other injured admitted to the medical college hospital were not identified.

District Magistrate Krishna Karunesh, Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Gaurav Grover and Superintendent of Police (City) Krishna Kumar Bishnoi reached the district hospital and medical college hospital and took information from the injured.