Dense fog triggers multiple road crashes across UP; 25 dead, 59 injured

At least 25 people were killed and 59 injured in a series of fog-linked road accidents across Uttar Pradesh, the police said on Tuesday.In the worst of these mishaps, a multi-vehicle pile-up turned into an inferno on the Yamuna Expressway in Mathura. As many as 13 people were burnt to death and 43 sustained injuries, when several vehicles collided in dense fog on the Yamuna Expressway in the early hours of Tuesday. The accident occurred around 4:30 am on the Agra-to-Noida carriageway within the Baldev police station limits. President Droupadi Murmu also condoled the loss of lives and injuries in the Mathura incident.

SSP Shlok Kumar said eight buses and three smaller vehicles were involved in the pile-up due to poor visibility.

Baldev SHO Ranjana Sachan said all the 13 deceased died of burns.

Visuals from the spot showed the charred remains of the buses and cars. Cranes were pressed into service to clear the wreckage. Kumar said DNA samples have been collected from the charred bodies to help establish identities. "We have identified three deceased passengers and are contacting their relatives," he said.

By noon, 43 injured -- 10 women and 33 men -- were admitted to the Joint District Hospital in Vrindavan. A four-member committee headed by Additional District Magistrate (Administration) Amresh Kumar has been formed to probe the incident and submit a report within two days.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the loss of lives and announced an assistance of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to the injured.

In other accidents, four people each were killed in Basti and Unnao and two each in Meerut and Barabanki. According to officials, all the incidents were linked to poor visibility.

In Barabanki district, two people were killed and three injured when a speeding Maruti Ertiga rammed into a Mahindra Scorpio amid dense fog on the Purvanchal Expressway, near Sariyan village in the Haidergarh Kotwali area, the police said.

In Basti district, four people were killed and 11 seriously injured late on Monday evening, when a bus carrying Urs pilgrims collided head-on with a truck on the Basti-Lumbini road near the Hardiya intersection, police said.

Basti Range Deputy Inspector General of Police Sanjeev Tyagi said the bus was carrying around 60 pilgrims from Sant Kabir Nagar to Ajmer Sharif.

In another accident linked to fog, four people died in Unnao district on Tuesday morning when their sports utility vehicle (SUV) rammed into a road divider after a tyre burst on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway. The accident occurred around 6 am near the expressway airstrip.

In Meerut, two persons, including a policeman, died and as many were injured when their car fell off a bridge and plunged into the Hindon river late on Monday night amid fog. SHO of the Jani police station Akhilesh Kumar Mishra said the deceased were identified as Head Constable Rahul Kumar (35), a resident of Bulandshahr district, and Azruddin (32) from Baghpat district.

The police, administration and highway authorities have urged motorists to exercise extreme caution amid continuing foggy conditions across the state.