Eight people, including five teachers, were killed and three injured when the tempo they were travelling in collided with a speeding truck early Saturday morning in Auraiya.
The injured were rushed to district hospital and the bodies were sent for autopsy.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief at the loss of lives in the accident.
According to government spokesman, soon after learning about the tragic incident, the Chief Minister directed officials to ensure that the injured persons got proper medical treatment. He also issued instruction to extend necessary help to the family members of those killed in the accident.
Reports said that a woman teacher along with five colleagues and five other passengers boarded a tempo from Dibiyapur crossing to Purwa Sujan locality early Saturday morning.
When they were passing Dibiyapur-Bela road, the ill-fated tempo tried to overtake another tempo and collided head-on with a truck coming from the opposite direction, Superintendent of Police in Auraiya, Suniti said.
The district polic chief, who reached the spot along with District Magistrate soon after learning about the mishap, said that eight passengers of the tempo died on the spot while three others sustained serious injuries and were shifted to hospital.
The identities of the deceased are yet to be ascertained, she added.
The injured are undergoing treatment at a hospital where the condition of two of them is stated to be `critical’.
A case has been registered in this regard and efforts are being made to nab the truck driver who abandoned the vehicle and fled after the accident.