18 from Bihar die in UP road mishap
BARABANKI (UP): At least 18 people from Bihar were killed and 25 others injured after a truck hit a stationary doubledecker bus at Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh, police said on Wednesday.
The accident took place on the Lucknow-Ayodhya highway under Kotwali Ramsanehighat area late Tuesday night.
The private bus was carrying over 130 passengers, mostly workers returning home in Bihar from Punjab and Haryana where they had gone for sowing paddy, the police said.
The axle of the bus broke and it was parked on the road when a speeding truck hit it, the police said. Some passengers were standing outside the bus while others were inside when the accident took place. While 11 died on the spot, seven died on the way to the hospital, they said.
The rescue operation was initially hampered by heavy rain, the police said.
The injured were rushed to a local hospital and from there
nine with serious injuries were referred to the trauma centre in Lucknow, S N Sabat, additional DGP (Lucknow zone), said.
Passengers Sitaram and Mauji Lal said they were saved as they had stepped out of the vehicle while a mechanic was repairing the axle.
Superintendent of Police Yamuna Prasad said families of the passengers can call on helpline number 9454417464 to enquire about them.
Those killed in the accident are from Bihar’s Sitamarhi, Madhepura, Supaul and Saharsa districts, he said.
So far, he said, 12 of the deceased have been identified as Suresh Yadav (35), Indal Mahto (25), Sikandar Mukhiya (40), Monu Sahani (30), Jagdish Sahani (40), Jai Bahadur Sahani (40), Baijnathram (55), Balram Mandal (55), Santosh Singh (30), Bouwa (24), Naresh (37) and Akhilesh Mukhiya (30).
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh each from the PM National Relief Fund for the families of the deceased. The injured would be given ₹50,000 each.
CM NITISH KUMAR ANNOUNCED AN EXGRATIA OF ₹2 LAKH TO NEXT OF KIN OF EACH OF THE DECEASED
PATNA: Of the 18 migrant workers from Bihar who were killed after a speeding truck hit their bus in Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh late on Tuesday night, the majority belonged from Runnisaidpur subdivision in Sitamarhi district.
According to the Sitamarhi district magistrate Sunil Kumar Yadav, his Barabanki counterpart informed him that eight of the deceased and nine of the injured were from Sitamarhi.
Yadav said a team has been sent to Barabanki to bring back the bodies.
“We were around 70 people who left from a bus stop near
Haryana’s Ambala for Bihar.
When the bus reached Hisar, the driver told them that bus had developed some technical fault and accommodated us in another bus, which was already crowded. Around 8 pm, the bus broke down and the driver informed us that the repair work will take time. Many of us came out of the bus. A few were sleeping on the road, while others were eating or resting,” said Fauni Sahni, a survivor.
Sanjay Mandal, a resident of
Supaul, told HT over phone that he lost his father and a neighbour in the incident. “More than 17 persons had gone to Punjab and Haryana in June for sowing paddy. Around 10 from Supaul were in the bus when accident occurred,” he said.
Mantu from Sheohar said he was returning with his father Joginder and friend Dilip from Kaithal in Haryana. His father was injured in the incident while he himself fainted after the mishap.
Meanwhile, Bihar Governor Phagu Singh Chauhan and chief minister Nitish Kumar condoled the loss of lives.
The CM announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh to next of kin of each of the deceased.