Baghpat: At least 12 people were killed and more than 16 injured after a canter carrying pilgrims overturned on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat district early on Monday.
The occupants of the vehicle were returning to Budaun after a pilgrimage to Bagad Dham in Rajasthan when the accident took place, the police said.
It occurred around 1 am between Basi and Bada villages in the Khekra Kotwali area, around 15 km from the Baghpat district headquarters. The canter, carrying 32 devotees from Budaun, reportedly hit a divider before overturning, triggering panic.
Several people were heard crying for help before rescuers arrived.
The police and emergency personnel reached the spot soon after receiving information and rushed the injured to the district hospital. Doctors there declared six people dead.
Twenty-two people were brought to the hospital for treatment, a doctor at the district hospital said. Eighteen of them were subsequently referred to a higher medical centre in Meerut.
Six more people later died while undergoing treatment at a medical college in Meerut, taking the toll to 12, SSP Suraj Rai confirmed to Hindustan Times.
At least one of those killed was a minor.
Kunwarpal, who was injured in the incident, said that most of the passengers were asleep when the vehicle suddenly overturned.
“We were all sleeping in the vehicle when there was a loud impact and the canter suddenly overturned. There was screaming and chaos at the spot,” he said.
The driver allegedly told the passengers that a vehicle approaching from behind had collided with their canter, causing it to lose balance and overturn, he said. Police, however, are investigating the circumstances and the exact cause of the accident.
Bagad Dham, also known as Gogamedi, is a prominent pilgrimage site in Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh district and is associated with Jaharveer Baba Goga Ji Maharaj, also known as Goga Nath Ji. A large numbers of devotees visit the site during August and September.
The pilgrims had travelled together from their village in Budaun to Rajasthan and were returning home when the accident occurred in Baghpat.
Vimlesh Kumar Yadav, another injured, said that all the passengers belonged to the same village.
Villagers had been undertaking pilgrimages to Rajasthan for nearly two decades and their previous journeys were generally completed without any major incident, he said.
Baghpat district magistrate Asmita Lal and the SSP visited the district hospital. They met the injured and directed medical personnel to ensure that they received proper treatment.