Prayagraj: Ten persons travelling in a Bolero car were killed in a head-on collision with a bus on a highway in the Meja police station area of Prayagraj late on Friday night, February 14.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Vivek Chandra Yadav said the devotees from Chhattisgarh’s Korba district were heading to the Maha Kumbh to take a dip when the Bolero they were travelling in collided head-on with a bus on the highway.
All the 10 people travelling in the Bolero died in the accident, while those in the bus suffered minor injuries, the DCP said.
While four of the deceased were identified based on their Aadhaar cards, six were identified based on information provided by their relatives.
The deceased include Somnath (28), Ishwari Prasad Jaiswal (56), Bhagirathi Jaiswal (43), Santosh Soni (55), Saurabh Soni, Ajay Banjare, Ganga Das Verma, Shiva Rajput (60), Deepak Verma and Raju Sahu.
The bodies have been sent to the SRN Hospital in Prayagraj for autopsy, the DCP said.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over the loss of lives in the accident.
In a post in Hindi on X, the chief minister’s office said, “UPCM @myogiadityanath has expressed deep condolences on the loss of lives in a road accident in Prayagraj district. He has expressed condolences to the bereaved families.”
“The injured have been sent to the hospital and the chief minister has directed the district administration to provide them with proper treatment. He has wished for the speedy recovery of the injured,” it said.
Kumbh pilgrim dies as bus catches fire
In another accident involving Maha Kumbh pilgrims, a 33-yea-old man from Rajasthan returning from Maha Kumbh died after a bus he was travelling in caught fire on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway in Firozabad district in the early hours of Saturday, police said.
According to the police, other passengers are safe.
Superintendent of Police (City) Ravi Shankar Prasad said the passengers had gone to attend the Maha Kumbh. After taking a dip at the Sangam, they went to Ayodhya for darshan and were returning from there.
Pawan Sharma, from Rajasthan’s Nagaur, was among the 52 passengers on board the ill-fated bus, the police said.
On Friday night, the bus left for Nagaur from Ayodhya. On the Lucknow-Agra Expressway at around 4 am, the vehicle caught fire, he said.
All the other passengers immediately got off the bus. However, Sharma who was sleeping when the incident happened, got stuck inside and died.
The body has been sent for post-mortem examination, the police said, adding that all the passengers were sent to their respective destinations by another bus.
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