Auraiya tragedy: Death toll climbs to 27 as man succumbs to injuries

Auraiya: The death toll in the road accident in Uttar Pradesh's Auraiya involving migrant workers returning home rose to 27 with another man succumbing to injuries on Monday, police said.

Auraiya District Magistrate (DM) Abhishek Singh said the bodies of all the victims were sent back in ambulances, adding that a video clip circulating on the social media showing bodies being sent by truck with migrants was fake.

A total of 24 migrant workers were killed and 36 injured when a trailer truck carrying sacks of lime and 43 people rammed into a stationary truck with a number of migrant workers sitting in it, near a roadside eatery on the national highway in Auraiya at 3.05 am on Saturday.

Two of the injured persons died subsequently.

The Auraiya police said the accident involving a trailer truck and a mini-truck occurred near the Shivji Dhaba in Tikauli village, with both the vehicles falling into a ditch by the roadside.

"A total of 27 migrant labourers have died in the accident, while 33 sustained injuries," a police officer said.

A case has been registered against the drivers, owners and transporters of the vehicles under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Epidemic Act and Motor Vehicles Act at Auraiya's Kotwali police station.

On Sunday, Auraiya Superintendent of Police Suniti suspended a sub-inspector and seven constables for negligence in discharging duty in connection with the accident.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on Saturday directed the suspension of the station house officers (SHOs) of two police stations -- Fatehpur Sikri (Agra) and Indirapuram (Ghaziabad) -- after the accident.

Meanwhile, the DM said the bodies of all the victims, who died either on the accident spot or in the hospital, were sent by ambulances according to the protocol.

Reacting to a video clip that has gone viral on the social media showing bodies being taken in a truck with some migrants sitting in it, he said it was fake.

Strict action would be taken against those behind it, the DM added.