Seven passengers of a UP Roadways bus were killed and two injured when they were hit by truck while pushing the bus which had broken down in Basti on Monday.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the loss of lives and directed officials to ensure financial assistance to the families of the deceased and injured persons.
Circle Officer of Harraiya, Rahul Pandey, said that bus conductor Amit Kumar Lodhi of Fatehpur also died in the accident, which took place near Bhadohi village in Chhavani area of Basti.
The Roadways bus was heading to Gorakhpur from Allahabad when its engine stalled near a roadside eatery and passengers alighted.
After efforts to fix the snag failed, the passengers started pushing the bus to get its engine started.
In the meanwhile, a speeding truck coming from behind hit the bus, leaving six passengers dead on the spot.
The local residents rushed for rescue of the passengers and admitted the injured to a hospital, where another person succumbed to his injuries.
“The deceased were identified as Indradev Verma (Basti), Awadhesh Kumar Pandey (Allahabad), Vivekanand Tiwari (Basti), Amit Kumar Lodhi (Fatehpur), Ramesh Yadav (Sant Kabir Nagar), and Pradeep and Shailendra ( both from Siddharthnagar),” the Circle Officer said, adding that the truck driver fled the scene after abandoning the vehicle at some distance.