Delhi-bound double-decker bus overturns in UP's Barabanki; 12 injured

Barabanki (UP), Jan 19 (PTI) A private double-decker bus overturned on the Lucknow-Ayodhya highway in Kotwali police station area here on early Monday, injuring 12 passengers, including two women, police said.

The passengers alleged that the bus driver had been speeding from the beginning, and was presumably under the influence of alcohol, they added.

According to the police, the double-decker bus, travelling from Gorakhpur to Delhi with 50 passengers on board, went out of control and overturned near a BJP office in Narepur village around 3.00 am on Monday.

A total of 12 passengers, including two young women, were injured in the accident, police said, adding that passersby, hearing cries of the passengers trapped in the bus, informed the police control room.

Upon receiving the information, Station House Officer, Kotwali, Sudhir Kumar Singh, and Circle Officer (City) Sangam Kumar reached the spot with police force.

With the help of ambulances, the injured were rushed to the trauma centre of the district hospital, where they are undergoing treatment, police said.

According to the police, the bus driver and conductor fled from the spot after the accident, and a search is underway to trace them. Police made arrangements to send the passengers who were safe to their respective destinations and impounded the damaged bus for investigation.

CO Sangam Kumar said prima facie, the cause of the accident appears to be speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol. PTI COR NAV ARB ARB