Thick fog on the Yamuna Expressway on Monday morning led to a chain-reaction crash that killed one and left over two dozen people injured as visibility reduced to minimum.
Three people were critically injured in the 77-vehicle pile-up on the stretch in Mathura region. According to police, the pile-up witnessed after a speeding Swift car hit Tata Magic while making an attempt to overtake each other. The victims were taken to a hospital in Greater Noida where one was declared brought dead, while condition of three others was stated to be critical.
Police said that the accident took place on Agra-Greater Noida side around 9 am, 88 km before the zero point, when a Swift hit a Tata Magic. Within a few seconds, scores of vehicles, coming from the same side, also engaged as the occupants could not notice the accident due to dense fog. A PCR call was made immediately and the victims were rescued thereafter. A massive jam was also witnessed on the stretch and the rescue teams took around two hours to remove the logjam and resume normal traffic. Pratish Kumar, a resident of New Delhi, died. On the other hand, a doctor with AIIMS, Delhi — Divya — is reportedly critical.
The Jaypee officials claimed that there was a pile up of only two to three dozen vehicles, but eyewitnesses said that more than 77 vehicles had bumped into each other. Meanwhile, the Jaypee official said that they have been taking all measures to check accidents on the stretch. “We have installed speed guns at all toll plazas and provide information to police about those vehicles which cross the speed limit of 110 km per hour. We have also put signage which warn occupants to use fog headlamps. We have held sessions to spread awareness about road safety. We have conducted survey of vehicles on the expressway to know the cause of the accidents,” said a Jaypee official.