JOIN USThirty-two people, including women and children, were killed and 38 injured in separate road accidents in Etah, Jaunpur and Sultanpur districts in Uttar Pradesh, police said on Monday.
In Etah, 21 people were killed and 23 others injured when a state roadways bus fell into the Hazara canal in the Pilua area on Sunday night when the driver lost control of the vehicle. The mishap occurred when the bus was en route to Delhi from Farrukhabad.
Among the dead were 11 members of a family, including a newlywed woman, going to Ghaziabad from Aliganj after the marriage ceremony.
In Jaunpur, five people were killed and seven others injured when a jeep collided with a truck at Baksha on Monday afternoon, the police said.
In the third incident, six people were killed and eight others injured when a truck was hit by a jeep from behind in Bedupara village in the Lambhua area in Sultanpur district on Monday.
According to police sources, in the Etah incident, the driver lost control while crossing the Hazara canal bridge and crashed the bus into the railings. The bus plunged into the canal trapping over 50 passengers. The driver reportedly tried to give way to an oncoming truck.
Most passengers were asleep when the mishap occurred. Some claimed that the driver was drunk.
A strong current in the canal hampered rescue and relief operations and many passengers were feared to have been swept away. So far, 21 bodies have been fished out of the canal, the police said. The victims include seven women and four children.
“Relief and rescue operations are continuing. We are trying to trace those who are missing,” officials said. Twenty-two 22 people were admitted to hospital. The condition of some of the injured was stated to be critical.
Survivors claimed that the police reached the site several hours after the accident. “Villagers rescued many passengers,” they said.
Meanwhile, the state government announced an ex gratia relief of Rs 50,000 for the next of the kin of the deceased. An inquiry has also been ordered.