18 people sleeping on road crushed to death as truck rams into bus in Indian state

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At least 18 people who were sleeping on the road were crushed to death and 10 others injured on Tuesday night when a speeding truck rammed into a parked bus in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

The tragedy took place in Barabanki district on the national highway, which is about 30 kilometres from Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow, reported NDTV News. The people were sleeping on the road in front of the bus which had broken down while on its way to Bihar from Haryana.

According to Bharat, a survivor, around 130 people had left from near Ambala in Haryana for Bihar but on Tuesday evening their bus broke down and as the repair was scheduled to take time, many among them came out.

“A few were sleeping on the road, a few were eating or resting. A few hours later, around midnight, a truck collided into the parked bus, resulting in many casualties,” he said.

Many of the 130 people were labourers but how many among those who died were labourers is not yet established.

When the speeding truck rammed into the parked bus from behind, the bus moved ahead and crushed the people. The injured were taken to the nearby hospital and the police is conducting further investigations into the accident.

Barabanki’s superintendent of police Yamuna Prasad told Reuters that the bus “was overloaded and had about 150 passengers in it.” He said at least 10 people were injured and sent to the state capital of Lucknow for treatment.

On Wednesday, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a series of tweets, expressed grief over the accident and announced a compensation of Rs 200,000 (£1,937) each from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the next of kin of those who lost their lives in the Barabanki accident. The injured would be given Rs 50,000 (£484) each.

He tweeted that he is “very sad” and expressed his condolences. He informed that he has spoken to Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and that arrangements are being made for proper treatment of those injured in the accident.

Additional reporting by agencies