In yet another tragic mishap, six people were killed and at least 20 others were seriously injured early Sunday morning when a private double-decker bus collided with a SUV on Agra-Lucknow Expressway in Kannauj district.
The accident occurred at around 5:15 am about 122 kilometres from Lucknow.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the loss of lives and directed senior officials to ensure all help to the victims.
According to the police, the bus started from Maswani at Darbhanga in Bihar and was enroute Delhi and the maximum number of passengers were migrant workers who had returned their their native towns after losing jobs due to lockdown.
The condition of some of the injured was said to be critical and they were shifted to GSVM Medical College hospital in Kanpur.
Superintendent of Police in Kannauj, Amrendra PD Singh, said, “A private bus with around 40 passengers plunged down the highway after colliding with a stranded SUV. Five passengers were killed on the spot while another died minutes after reaching the hospital.”
He said around 20 other passengers have also sustained injuries and they had been admitted to hospital.
“It appears that the bus driver failed to see the SUV in time that this led to the collision and then he failed to control the bus which plunged down,” Singh said.