At least nine persons, mostly children, were killed and 18 injured when a pick-up van carrying a marriage party collided with a truck in Hafizpur area of Hapur on Bulandshahr road late Sunday night.
The injured were rushed to the district hospital but after condition of five injured was found to be critical, they were referred to medical college hospital in Meerut .
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the deaths and directed authorities to provide all medical help to the injured.
As per reports, a group of 30 people, including children, went to attend the wedding of Meharban’s daughter Gulfisa by a pick-up van on Bulandshahr road on Sunday night. When they were returning to their village Salepur Kotla, their van collided with a mini truck coming from the opposite direction around 11 pm near Sadikpur village in Hafizpur police station limits.
The impact was so severe that the van was torn apart and its occupants were flung on the highway. The truck driver fled the spot after the incident.
The injured were rushed to a hospital where doctors pronounced nine people, including five children, dead.
Six of the deceased children, in the age group of 8 to 14 years, were identified as Aksha, Sufiyan, Anas, Gayyur, Shifa and Abdul Rehman.
After autopsy, their bodies were sent to Salepur Kotla village.
The injured are undergoing treatment in Hapur and Meerut.
Hapur District Magistrate Aditi Singh said that a letter would be sent to the state government seeking financial assistance for the families of the deceased.
Meanwhile in Budaun, two kanwarias drowned while taking a bath in the Ganga river on Monday.
Divyam Saxena (23), Aman Gupta (22) and Devendra (30) slipped into deep water while bathing at Ataina ghat in Usaihata area. Devendra was saved by the locals but the other two drowned. Their bodies were later fished out and sent for autopsy.
Kanwar Yatra is an annual pilgrimage of Lord Shiva’s devotees, known as kanwarias, who visit Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand and Sultanganj in Bihar to fetch holy water of the Ganga river during the auspicious month of Shravan. This year, the Kanwar Yatra began on July 17.
