UP multi-vehicle crash: PM Modi announces ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh as 11 die in Mirzapur

As many as eleven people, including children were killed in a tragic multi-vehicle crash triggered by a suspected brake failure in a truck in Uttar Pradesh's Mirzapur district, police said on Thursday.

District Magistrate Pawan Gangwar told PTI that seven of those killed were from Mirzapur district, three from Madhya Pradesh, while one was from neighbouring Sonbhadra district.

The deceased from Mirzapur's Jigna area included Shiva Singh (8), Sonam Singh (9), Piyush Singh (14), Pankaj Singh (40), Vandana Singh (43), Vishnu Singh (45) and Veena Singh (47).

The others who died in the accident included Kartikeya Singh (18) and Priyanka Singh (42) from Satna in Madhya Pradesh, Vikas Sharma (32) from Sagar in Madhya Pradesh, and Jai Prakash (27) from Sonbhadra, the officials said.

The accident was reported at around 8.30 pm on Wednesday, after which police, and fire fighters rushed to the scene to launch a rescue operation with the help of the locals, SP Aparna Rajat Kaushik said.

The collision happened on a stretch of National Highway-135 descending from the Dramandganj valley towards Lasoda, about 50 km from the district headquarters.

According to preliminary findings of the police, a truck travelling downhill is suspected to have suffered a brake failure before ramming into another truck moving ahead of it.

This led to a car between the two trucks being crush, while a chain collusion followed where another car caught fire after being hit, Kaushik said.

“Police, along with locals, pulled out the victims trapped in the mangled vehicles. So far, 11 deaths have been reported,” the SP said.

Among the vehicles included in the crash, a truck was registered in Bihar, while the other was from Madhya Pradesh. Among the cars, one was from Sonbhadra district and the other from Mirzapur.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed sorrow and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of each of those killed and Rs 50,000 for the injured.

"Deeply anguished by the loss of lives due to the mishap in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for the quick recovery of the injured," Modi said in a post on X.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath condoled the loss of lives.

In a post on X Thursday morning, Adityanath said, “The loss of lives in the road accident in Mirzapur is extremely tragic and heart-rending. My condolences are with the bereaved families." "Instructions have been issued to the officials concerned to ensure proper treatment for the injured," he said.

“I pray to Lord Ram that the departed souls attain eternal peace, the grief-stricken families are granted the strength to bear this immense sorrow, and the injured recover swiftly,” the chief minister added.

Meanwhile, efforts are underway to restore traffic movement on the affected stretch, and a detailed probe has been initiated to ascertain the exact cause of the accident, police said.