Tragedy struck Bareilly when at least two dozen passengers were fatally charred and 14 others suffered critical burns when a state road transport bus burst into flames after crashing into a truck on the national highway early Monday morning.
The injured where admitted to a hospital and a three-member state government delegation led by Finance minister Rajesh Agarwal ovresaw that the injured were treated and the DNA samples of the deceased were preserved for identification. Agarwal and two of his ministerial colleagues Swatantradev Singh and Brijesh Pathak flew to Bareilly in a chopper on instruction of CM Yogi Adityanath.
The minister announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh for the kin of deceased, Rs 50,000 to the seriously injured and Rs 25,000 for those with minor injuries.
A native of Bareilly, Agarwal said that the death toll has risen to 24. Besides, 14 others were suffering from serious burns. He said that the compensation would be paid only after the identity of deceased were established. He also ordered shifting of two critically injured to lucknow.
With condolence pouring in from all quarters, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the deaths and announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased. The UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) also announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the deceased besides ordering a high-level probe into the accident.
Transport Commissioner K Ravindra Naik said that a probe has been ordered to find out the reason behind the accident. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also expressed sorrow at the loss of lives in a mishap in Bareilly and expressed condolences to the bereaved families. He also directed officers to ensure that the injured got proper and prompt treatment.
The ill-fated UP Road Transport Corporation bus (UP43T-5978) carrying 41 passengers from Delhi, was on its way to Gonda in eastern UP when the mishap took place near Bada bypass on NH 24. The bodies were so badly charred that doctors found it difficult to determine the gender of the victims.
Initially, the number of injured was put at 15, but the name of another passenger was added to the list, of whom two died during treatment. Three passengers escaped with minor injuries. SSP Jogendra Kumar said, “The accident involving a bus of UPSRTC and a truck occurred between 1.00 and 1.30 am. Six passengers, who were critically injured, were hospitalised.”
Eyewitnesses claimed that the diesel tank of the bus burst after the collision leading to the fire.
“Around 5.45 am, we received 22 bodies from the accident site. Most bodies were charred beyond recognition. It was difficult to even determine the gender of the people,” said Dr Shailesh Ranjan of Bareilly district hospital.
“The number of male and female passengers who died in the accident would be clear only after the post-mortem,” Chief Medical Officer, Bareilly, Dr Vijay Yadav, said.
The bus driver is also among the deceased, while the conductor received serious injuries. The truck driver, which was coming from Shahjehanpur, is absconding.
“The truck and the bus both caught fire after the collision. Fire engines reached as soon as possible but the flames were so high that it took us a lot of effort to actually douse the flames and reach inside”, said senior police officer SK Bhagat. Meanwhile, UPSRTC has set up a control room (numbers : 058-2473303 and 058-247043) to help the kin of the victims.