Tragic Post-Diwali Road Accidents Claim 17 Lives in Uttar Pradesh
Multiple Fatal Accidents in Uttar Pradesh
Lucknow: A series of road accidents in Uttar Pradesh on Monday resulted in the tragic deaths of at least 17 individuals and left 55 others injured, occurring just after the Diwali festivities. Many of these incidents took place in the early hours, as reported by officials. The most catastrophic event unfolded in Muzaffarnagar, where six individuals perished when their vehicle overturned and ignited after colliding with a divider and an electric pole.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed his sorrow and instructed officials to extend all necessary support to the families of the victims. This fatal incident occurred around 4:50 AM near Jagahedi village, within the jurisdiction of the Titawi police station, along the Panipat-Khati highway. The deceased, aged between 19 and 22, hailed from Hisar in Haryana and were en route to Haridwar. According to SSP Suraj Kumar Rai, the car was likely speeding when the driver lost control. Emergency services arrived promptly, but all six passengers were pronounced dead upon arrival at the district hospital.
In Chitrakoot, another tragic accident claimed the lives of four people, including two children, and injured 12 others when a tractor-trolley overturned near Ramnagar in Mau tehsil around 2:30 AM. District Magistrate Pulkit Garg reported that the victims were returning from a pilgrimage when the vehicle's coupling mechanism failed, leading to the overturning. Approximately 25 individuals, including a family from Madhya Pradesh's Rewa district, were aboard the vehicle. Seven of the injured were in critical condition and were transferred to Prayagraj for advanced medical care.
Additionally, three people lost their lives and 41 were injured when a bus traveling from Beawar in Rajasthan to Chhapra in Bihar overturned into a ditch near Zero Point on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway between 6:00 AM and 6:30 AM. Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak confirmed that the injured were receiving treatment at local hospitals and that their families were being notified. He later emphasized the need for coordinated efforts to enforce speed regulations on expressways, conduct regular driver training, and implement mandatory health checks before entry.
In Shahjahanpur, a private bus conductor and his assistant were tragically killed by an unidentified truck on the Ganga Expressway. Vipin Yadav (50) and Kaushal (35) had exited the bus to inspect a windowpane when the truck struck them.
In another incident in Lucknow, a 22-year-old man was killed, and a 17-year-old was injured after their motorcycle was hit by an unknown vehicle near Dev Hospital. Furthermore, a 15-year-old boy died, and his friend sustained serious injuries when a speeding state transport bus collided with their motorcycle near Sanjak village in Muzaffarnagar.
On Diwali evening, four additional fatalities occurred in two separate accidents in Kushinagar and Lucknow. Two young men died following a collision between a motorcycle and a pickup truck in Kushinagar, while two passengers lost their lives in an e-rickshaw-car crash in the Dubagga area of Lucknow. Authorities suspect that poor visibility may have contributed to some of the early-morning accidents, although the exact causes are still under investigation.