At least 17 people have been killed and over 30 injured when a speeding bus hit a divider in Uttar Pradesh's Mainpuri on Wednesday. The bus was going from Jaipur to Gursahaiganj. Injured have been admitted to a local hospital.
Eye witnesses said that the bus was being driven at a very high speed and it overturned after the driver lost control of the vehicle. The driver, who has also been injured in the accident, has been taken to a hospital and police are waiting to record his statement.
The bus was carrying 60-70 people.
Sixteen people, including a woman, died on the spot while another person succumbed to his injuries at Saifai hospital, Mainpuri Superintendent of Police Ajay Shankar Rai said. Their identity was being ascertained.
Mostly labourers, returning to their native villages in Uttar Pradesh from Rajasthan, were travelling in the bus.
Some of the injured, including the bus driver who has lost his left leg, were stated to be critical and undergoing treatment at a Saifai hospital. Others, Rai said, were admitted to the district hospital.
Senior administrative officials have reached the site of the accident and were overseeing relief and rescue operations.
Additional Superintendent of Police Om Prakash Singh said three of the injured have been referred to an Agra hospital.
"The registration plate of the bus reveals it is from Farrukhabad (UP-76). It was coming from Jaipur," Singh said. He said the number of casualties include those who were were sleeping on the roof of the bus.
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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled 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.
(With PTI inputs)
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