GHAZIPUR: At least
four people
, including
two women
, were
killed
and 28 suffered
serious injuries
when a bus carrying pilgrims from Bihar collided with a stationary truck near Musepur Barachavar on Purvanchal Expressway in Ghazipur district on Monday morning.
The incident occurred when the pilgrims from Bhojpur in Bihar were returning home after offering prayers at Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Driver dozed off as bus moved at high speed on Purvanchal expressway
Police said the driver dozed off and hit the stationary truck from behind.
After taking stock of the accident site, Ghazipur SP Omvir Singh said bus driver Ramnivas (45), Kamla Dev (65) and an Army personal Vinod Singh were declared dead at Ghazipur district hospital, while another passenger, Sunita Singh, succumbed to injuries during treatment at a hospital in Mau.
At least 18 of the injured are being treated at Ghazipur while 10 are admitted to a hospital in Mau, he added. Doctors at the Ghazipur hospital said one person was critical and three had major trauma while others had minor injuries.
Yadunandan Singh, one of the survivors, said a group of around 50 pilgrims from Karath village of Trarai and neighbouring villages of Ara police station area in Bhojpur district had booked a bus to visit Ayodhya to offer prayers at Ram Mandir. He said the bus was moving at a very high speed when the accident occurred.
Survivors said the driver dozed off before the bus reached Barachavar area around 5.30 am. Yadunandan said passengers had started alerting the driver after seeing the bus heading towards the stationary truck, but he did not wake up.
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