Bus collision with water tankerkills 5 as vehicle plunges 45 ft | Lucknow News
Lucknow: Five people were killed and 19 injured Thursday evening when an UPSRTC bus collided with a water tanker and plunged nearly 45 feet into a gorge off the Hardoi highway in Kakori’s Tikaitganj area of Lucknow, reports Pathikrit Chakraborty. The accident took place around 8.30 pm when the Hardoi–Lucknow roadways bus (UP-78 LN 1340) of the Sandila depot, carrying 40 passengers, approached the Tikaitganj bridge.Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the deaths and directed officials to ensure immediate relief and effective treatment of all affected.Eyewitnesses said a water tanker was sprinkling water on roadside plants as part of ongoing construction work. The bus, unable to control its speed, rammed into the tanker before cartwheeling, skidding off the bridge, and toppling into a deep gorge. DCP, West Zone, Vishwajeet Srivastava said that one out of five deceased was a vegetable vendor who was caught in the impact. About others, he said it was yet to be confirmed whether they were on board the bus.The deceased were identified as Babu Ram, son of Dara Chand, resident of Pipra, Pilibhit; Naradev, resident of Mathura; Sanjeev, son of Lekhan Pal, resident of Raipur Jagwan, Badaun; Dilshad, son of Mustaq, a vegetable vendor from Budhiya village, Kakori (Lucknow); and an unidentified male, whose identity is being established by police.“The skull of the man was smashed and his identity could not be ascertained,” said Srivastava. Police said Dilshad, who was selling vegetables near the bridge, was dragged into the gorge along with the bus when it lost control. Witnesses added that a motorcyclist sitting on the bridge was also hit before the bus went off the road.As news of the accident spread, chaos broke out in the area. Local residents rushed to the gorge to rescue trapped passengers, while police and firefighters arrived soon after. Two fire tenders from Malihabad and Hazratganj fire stations, along with a rescue vehicle, were deployed. Rescue teams worked through the evening, using cranes to lift the overturned bus and pull out passengers trapped beneath.Top officials, including police commissioner Amrendra Kumar Sengar, joint CP (Law & Order) Babloo Kumar, divisional commissioner Roshan Jacob, and DM Vishakh G, reached the spot to supervise rescue and relief efforts. The deceased were sent for postmortem examinations, while other victims were rushed to nearby hospitals. Dr Kapil Dev Mishra of Kakori CHC said that in all, 24 people were brought to CHC, out of which a 26-year-old youth, Dilshad, died. He was a resident of village Budhadhiya Kakori. He died during treatment in CHC, while 23 others were referred to KGMU Trauma.A KGMU spokesperson told TOI that four were brought dead, while treatment of others was being conducted, of which two are in the ICU.
