Truck driver burnt alive after collision amid dense fog on UP highway

Etawah (UP): A truck driver was burnt alive after two trucks collided amid dense fog on the Agra-Etawah-Kanpur six-lane highway here, police said on Friday.

The accident occurred late Thursday night near the Pakka Bagh overbridge on National Highway-2.

Police said a truck carrying gypsum from Ahlanabad in Haryana to Varanasi rammed into another truck ahead of it after the latter suddenly applied brakes amid poor visibility due to dense fog.

Following the collision, the truck loaded with gypsum caught fire, which quickly spread to the cabin. The driver remained trapped inside the cabin and was engulfed by flames, resulting in his death on the spot, police said.

Passersby informed the police and fire brigade about the blaze. Three fire tenders were rushed to the spot and firefighters managed to douse the fire after nearly an hour of strenuous efforts. By then, the cabin of the truck had been completely gutted.

The incident and subsequent firefighting operations led to disruption of traffic on the busy highway for several hours, police said.

After the fire was extinguished, police recovered the charred remains of the driver from the burnt cabin. The deceased was identified as Jaskirat Singh alias Lovely, a resident of Sirsa in Haryana, by the driver of another truck travelling behind, police said.

Police said the collision occurred due to sudden braking by the truck ahead in dense fog, leaving the following driver with little time to react. A crane was later used to remove the burnt truck from the road and traffic was restored.

The remains of the deceased have been sent for postmortem examination after completing necessary formalities, police added.