KANNAUJ: Twenty-three people were killed and several injured in separate road accidents in various districts of Uttar Pradesh on Friday, police said.
In Pilibhit, six people were killed when a car carrying a wedding party crashed into a tree and plunged into a ditch around midnight.
In Chitrakoot, another six died when an SUV collided head-on with a truck.
In Kannauj, eight passengers travelling in a private bus lost their lives when the bus struck a water tanker on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives in the Kannauj accident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the PMNRF for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
"Saddened by the loss of lives in the bus accident in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh. May the injured recover soon. The local administration is assisting those affected. An ex-gratia of Rs.2 lakh from PMNRF will be given to the next of kin of each deceased, and the injured will receive Rs 50,000," he wrote in a post on X.
In the Pilbhit accident, a car with 11 people on board collided with a tree before falling into a ditch on the Pilibhit-Tanakpur road in the Neora police station area.
The driver of the car lost control while trying to overtake another vehicle Superintendent of Police (SP) Avinash Kumar Pandey told PTI Videos that the rescue operation lasted more than an hour and a half, with a bulldozer used to clear a fallen tree that had trapped the vehicle.
The victims, all from Uttarakhand's Khatima district, were returning from a wedding in Chandoi village when the tragedy struck.
The deceased have been identified as Munni (65), Manzoor Ahmed (60), Bahiuddin (55), Sharif Ahmed (60), Sahe Alam (35), and Rakim (11).
Three of the injured were referred to a higher medical facility, while the others received initial treatment at the local hospital.
In Chitrakoot, six people died and five were injured when their SUV collided head-on with a truck on the Jhansi-Mirzapur highway in the Raipura police station area at around 5:30 am.
SP Arun Kumar Singh stated that the 11 family members from Chhatarpur (Madhya Pradesh) were returning home after immersing ashes in Prayagraj.
The survivors were treated at a local hospital and later referred to a district hospital for further care.
The deceased were identified as Nanhe (65), Hariram (45), Mohan (45), Ramu (44), Mangana (65), and Ramswaroop Yadav (age unconfirmed).
Meanwhile, in Kannauj, another fatal accident occurred around 2 pm on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway when a private sleeper bus, travelling from Lucknow to Delhi, collided with a water tanker that was irrigating plants on the highway.
Kannauj SP Amit Kumar Anand confirmed that eight passengers were killed in the crash, and 19 others were injured.
The injured were taken to Saifai Medical College in Etawah district for treatment, while who escaped unhurt were sent to their destinations in another bus.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and wished for the speedy recovery of those injured.
He also instructed district officials to expedite relief efforts and ensure proper assistance to the affected families.
Earlier in the evening, a Police Response Vehicle (PRV) in Rampur district also met with an accident, resulting in the death of a woman constable and severe injuries to three other personnel.
Rampur Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Atul Kumar Srivastava said that the PRV, travelling from the Patwai police station area to an event, overturned into a drain.
Constable Ruchi, a native of Bijnor district, succumbed to her injuries, while PRV Commander Constable Akash Diwakar, Constable Driver Sumit Pawar, and Women Constable Pinky got injured and have been referred to Moradabad for better treatment.