Lucknow: At least eight people were killed and 43 others injured when a truck rammed into a tractor-trolley carrying pilgrims in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district in the wee hours of Monday. There were two children among the dead.
The police have also said that 12 of those injured are minors.
“The accident occurred around 2.10 am, close to the Bulandshahr-Aligarh border near the Arnia bypass, when the canter truck hit the tractor-trolley from behind, causing it to overturn,” Dinesh Kumar Singh, senior superintendent of police (Rural), said. .
“The tractor-trolley was carrying 61 people, who were travelling from the Rafatpur village in the Kasganj district to Jaharpeer in Rajasthan for a pilgrimage,” he added.
Singh said the victims were rushed to hospitals, including a private facility. Three of the injured are on ventilator support, he said.
Police said 10 passengers escaped with minor injuries. The victims were taken to multiple hospitals for treatment: 10 to Aligarh Medical College, 10 to Bulandshahr district hospital and 23 to Kailash Hospital in Khurja.
The bodies of the deceased have been sent for post-mortem, police said.
The deceased have been identified as tractor driver E U Babu (40), Rambeti (65), Chandni (12), Ghaniram (40), Mokshi (40), Shivansh (6), Yogesh (50) and Vinod (45), all residents of the Kasganj district, the police added.
Senior officials, including the DM and the SSP visited the spot to take stock of the situation. They also spoke to the injured in hospital.
The truck involved in the accident has been apprehended. It has Haryana number plates. Legal proceedings have begun.
