Mathura: The death toll in the massive pile-up on the Yamuna Expressway on Tuesday morning has risen to thirteen with more charred bodies being extricated from the remains of the vehicles.
The accident occurred near Mathura around 4.30 am after three cars collided in zero visibility due to dense fog. At least seven buses then rammed into the cars and this sparked a major blaze. Most of the victims were asleep when the accident occurred.
“The vehicles collided due to low visibility on the Agra-to-Noida side of the Yamuna Expressway. Some vehicles also caught fire. All injured have been sent to the hospital,” Mathura Senior Superintendent of Police Shlok Kumar told PTI.
Two of the deceased were identified as 44-year-old Akhilendra Pratap Yadav, a resident of Prayagraj, and 75-year-old Rampal, from Maharajganj district, Baldev Police Station SHO Ranjana Sachan said.
All 13 died of burns, she said.
Of the injured, fifteen were admitted to the district hospital, nine each to a community health centre and a private hospital in Baldev, and two to SN Medical College, Agra, Sachan said.
Cranes were called in to remove the vehicles from the road.
According to a Mathura Police statement on X, the pile-up at Milestone 127 involved seven buses and three smaller vehicles. “None of the injured are in critical condition,” it said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Jordan, expressed deep grief over the loss of lives and announced ex-gratia assistance for the victims from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF).
“The loss of lives due to a mishap on the Yamuna Expressway in Mathura is extremely painful. My thoughts are with those who have lost their loved ones. I pray for the speedy recovery of those injured,” the Prime Minister said in a message posted on the official X handle of the Prime Minister’s Office.
The Prime Minister announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from the PMNRF for the next of kin of those who lost their lives in the accident, while the injured would receive Rs 50,000 each.
The SSP said that the passengers were sent to their destinations in government vehicles. Since the road is blocked, diversions have been made, he added.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, in a post on X in Hindi, expressed his condolences to the kin of the deceased.
“The loss of life in the road accident on the Yamuna Expressway in Mathura district is extremely tragic and heartbreaking. My deepest condolences are with the bereaved families,” he said.
“I have instructed the district administration officials to ensure proper treatment for the injured. I pray to Lord Ram to grant peace to the departed souls and a speedy recovery to the injured,” Adityanath said.
According to a post from his office, Adityanath announced Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased, and Rs 50,000 each to the injured.
Authorities are considering regulations on vehicular movement late on night and in the early hours of the day as parts of north India are getting enveloped in dense fog.
On Monday, fog led to the deaths of three people, two of them police officers, in two separate road accidents involving multiple vehicles in Haryana’s Sonipat and Nuh districts.
In the Nuh pileup, two people, including a CISF Inspector, were killed on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.
In Sonipat, a female assistant sub-inspector of police was killed when the car in which she was travelling for work hit a truck that was taking a wrong turn on the highway, the police said.
