In yet another tragic mishap in the State, 17 people were killed and 25 others injured, when a tourist bus overturned after hitting a divider in Mainpuri district on Wednesday morning.
According to Superintendent of Police (SP) in Mainpuri, Ajay Shanker Rai, the accident occurred near Kiratpur police chowki on the Etawah -Mainpuri highway.
The driver of the bus, en route to Farrukhabad from Jaipur, lost control of the vehicle near a steep curve due to over speeding. He first hit the divider after which the bus turned turtle claiming 16 lives on the spot, while one succumbed to his injuries later in the hospital.
Reports said that the private bus of ‘Maan’ company was reportedly carrying 60-70 passengers when the tragedy occurred in the wee hours. The injured have been rushed to the PGI, Saifai, where the condition of two was stated to be critical.
Majority of the deceased were natives of Kannauj, Kanpur City and one from Rajasthan and were working as labourers. The driver, however, survived and is currently being treated at the hospital. His statement will be recorded later.
District administration claimed to have maintained the identity of the 16 victims as Mohamed Azad (27), Gynendra (22), Pradeep (19), Mohamed Akeel (18), Waris (26), Mastan (55), Nandan (15), Moharram (35), all residents of Kannauj, Dimpi (19), hailing from Bharatpur in Rajasthan, Sharukh Khan (25), Hamiudeen (27), Mustaqeem (20), Gulli aka Hasim (20), Jahengir (23), Shahbaz (16), and Rehan (17), all natives of Kanpur city.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Narendra Modi condole the deaths in the accident and hoped for the early recovery of those injured. “My condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in a tragic accident in Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh. I hope those who are injured recover at the earliest,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted quoting Modi. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the family of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those seriously injured in the accident.