11 killed, 26 hurt after pickup van collides with bus

Bulandshahr (UP): Eleven people were killed and 26 injured when a pickup van collided with a private bus in the Salempur area of this Uttar Pradesh district on Sunday, officials said.

The accident occurred on the Budaun-Meerut state highway, around 14 kilometres from the district headquarters. Traffic on the road was briefly affected due to the accident.

Locals said the pickup van was coming from Ghaziabad when it collided head-on with the bus.

“Ten people were killed and 27 injured. The injured have been sent to different hospitals,” District Magistrate Chandra Prakash Singh told reporters.

Later, one more injured person succumbed.

The dead were identified as Mukut Singh (45), Deen Nath (45), Brijesh (18), Babu Singh (19), Shishupal (27), Girraj Singh (26), Sugarpal (35), Omkar (30), Mahesh (40), Jay P (18) and Surendra (45).

Nine injured people are undergoing treatment at a private hospital. The condition of three of the injured was serious and they were referred to the Meerut medical college. The remaining have been admitted to the district hospital, Singh said.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took cognisance of the accident and directed the district magistrate and other officials to ensure that the injured got the best treatment.

Singh said the fitness documents of both vehicles were updated.

Minister of State for Forest Arun Kumar said the family of those killed would be given financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each while the injured would be disbursed Rs 50,000 each.

He added a probe had been ordered and strict action would be taken against those found guilty.