LUCKNOW: In a major road accident, at least 18 persons were killed and around 30 injured when a double-decker private bus turned turtle after hitting a divider on Mainpuri- Etawah road near Kiratpur village under Dannahar police station in Mainpuri district, over 250 km from state capital Lucknow, at 5:30 on Wednesday morning.
As per the sources, a double-decker bus of a private transport company of Farrukhabad was coming from Jaipur and was headed to Farrukhabad via Mainpuri when it lost control, hit the divider and turned turtle.
PM 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.
Expressing his deep grief and sending condolences to the bereaved families, CM Yogi Adityanath announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the family of deceased and Rs 50,000 to those injured in the accident.
Mainpuri DM Pradeep Kumar and SP Ajay Shankar Rai rushed to the spot. The injured were admitted to Mainpuri district hospital while those critical were referred to Saifai Medical University in Etawah. The district administration authorities, who were supervising the rescue and relief operation, claimed that 12 of 18 bodies were already identified.
"The bus was carrying around 60-70 people. A number of passengers were sitting and some were lying on the roof of the bus which was on its way to Farrukhabad via Mainpuri from Jaipur," said Superintendent of Police Ajay Shankar Rai.
According to sources passengers were travelling on the roof of the bus in the wake of intense heat wave and that the driver was speeding. The district police chief confirmed the rescue and relief was provided to those injured in the mishap immediately.
"The bus driver has lost his left leg and is currently undergoing treatment at Saifai Medical university," said the SP said adding that the process of identification of the deceased was on and their relatives were being informed. He also confirmed that JCBs and cranes were used to lift the bus.
"Most of the passengers in the bus were 'zardozi' artisans and daily labourers who were on way to their homes in Kannauj and Farrukhabad districts in the wake of upcoming Eid festival," said a senior police officer.
The police also said that a maximum number of casualties include those passengers who due to intense heat were sleeping on the roof of the bus.