3 killed in bus-truck collision in UP's Bahraich

Three people, including two passengers of a bus, died and 20 others were injured when it collided head on with a rice-laden truck on Monday morning, police said.

According to the police, prima facie the accident took place due to dense fog.

Police sources said that truck driver Pappu (50), a resident of Deoria, died on the spot. Bus driver Mahboob (35), a resident of Shravasti, and bus passenger Ram Raj (38), a resident of Gonda, also died on the spot.

They added that 20 passengers of the ill-fated bus were also injured.

Circle Officer (City) Rajiv Sisodia said, ''Most of the people travelling in the bus are said to be labourers from UP working in Gujarat. Prima facie it seems that due to excessive fog in the morning, the drivers could not see each other. The Bahraich-Balrampur road on which the accident took place is a two-lane road without a divider. ''Had there been dividers, perhaps the accident would not have happened. The driver's sides of both the vehicles collided head on, due to which both the drivers died on the spot,'' he said.

The third deceased, bus passenger Ramraj (24), was a resident of the Gonda district, the CO said.

Bahraich District Magistrate (DM) Monica Rani and Superintendent of Police (SP) Prashant Verma reached the incident site and the district hospital and took stock of relief, rescue and treatment given to the injured.

The SP told reporters that the truck was coming from Shravasti to Bahraich and the bus was going from Rajkot in Gujarat to Balrampur. Both the vehicles collided head on near the Dharaswan village on Bahraich-Shravasti road in Kotwali Dehat police station area.

He added that according to the information received at that time, three people had died in this accident. The vehicles have been straightened with the help of JCB. The injured are being treated in hospitals. DM Monica Rani told reporters that some injured people have been admitted at the Gilola community health centre (CHC) in Shravasti as it is close to the accident site.

Police sources also said that all the injured were brought to the Gilola CHC, from where six were sent to Bahraich. Later, seriously injured Suraj (10) was sent to Lucknow for treatment.