Six people, including a police sub-inspector, were killed and 21 others seriously injured when a double-decker AC bus overturned on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district early Tuesday, police said. The accident took place at 5.15 am near Nibha Kheda village when the bus, travelling from Delhi to Bihar, went out of control and overturned, they said. Police said around 50 passengers were believed to be travelling in the bus. According to preliminary investigation, the driver allegedly lost control of the vehicle after dozing off at the wheel. Eyewitnesses said the bus was speeding when it suddenly hit the divider and overturned. Following the impact, the vehicle got suspended on the roadside railing. Auras Community Health Centre in-charge Dr Anoop Kumar Tiwari said 28 injured passengers were brought to the hospital after the accident, of whom six were declared dead.
He said 21 critically injured passengers were referred to the trauma centre in Lucknow after primary treatment, while one woman was discharged. The deceased have been identified as police sub-inspector Ravi Charan Ram (around 50), Suresh Kumar Jaiswal (40) of Gorakhpur, Videshi Gupta (45), Vijay Kumar (24) of Basti and two unidentified persons, police said. Soon after the accident, police and rescue teams rushed to the spot and launched relief and rescue operations. District Magistrate Ghanshyam Meena and Senior Superintendent of Police Jai Prakash Singh also reached the spot to take stock of the situation. In a post on X, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath termed the loss of lives in the accident as "extremely saddening and heart-rending".
He expressed condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for peace to the departed souls and speedy recovery of the injured. In a separate statement, the Chief Minister's Office said Adityanath had directed local officials to ensure proper rescue and relief measures and adequate treatment for the injured. He also directed officials to provide appropriate compensation to the victims and their families. State BJP president Pankaj Chaudhary also condoled the loss of lives in the Unnao accident as well as separate road accidents in Barabanki and Lalitpur districts. Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak also expressed grief over the deaths and concern for the injured through social media posts.