UP: Death toll rises to 8 in Barabanki car-truck collision

Barabanki (UP), Nov 4 (PTI) Two persons who had sustained serious injuries in the head-on collision between a car and truck near Bishunpur village of Barabanki district on November 3 succumbed to their wounds in Lucknow during treatment on Tuesday morning, taking the accident toll to eight, officials said. Of the deceased, four people belonged to one family.

According to police, the incident took place around 10 pm when a speeding truck collided with an MUV without a number plate on the Kalyani River bridge, which has a single-lane road, under the Deva police station limits.

Six people died on the spot, whereas the two critically injured were taken to the Trauma Centre in Lucknow. All the deceased were passengers of the car and residents of Fatehpur town.

The impact of the collision was so severe that the car, which did not have a number plate and appeared new, was mangled to the extent that a crane was used to remove it from the road.

Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Awadhesh Kumar Yadav said that the deceased have been identified as driver Shrikant Shukla (40), Balaji Mishra (55), Pradeep Soni (55), his wife Madhuri Soni (52) and sons Nitin (35) and Naimish (15). Indra Kumar (50) and Vishnu Shukla (15) died during treatment in Lucknow on Tuesday.

He added that all the bodies will be handed over to their families after post-mortem examination.

The victims were returning from a holy dip in the river Ganga in Bithoor in Kanpur district, when the tragic accident occurred, police said.

Pradeep Soni was a jeweller, and he and his entire family were killed in the accident.

Superintendent of Police Arpit Vijayvargiya, who reached the scene upon receiving the information, said that preliminary investigations indicate that speeding was the primary cause of the accident.

According to eyewitnesses, the truck was moving at a very high speed, and the truck driver apparently lost control upon seeing the oncoming car, leading to the fatal crash.

Police said they have impounded the truck, and its driver is absconding.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had expressed grief over the loss of lives in the accident. PTI COR NAV AMJ AMJ