13 killed, 25 injured in fog-hit vehicle pile-up on Yamuna Expressway in Mathura

Mathura, Dec 16: A massive pile-up triggered by dense fog on the Yamuna Expressway in Mathura sparked a massive fire on Tuesday morning, killing at least 13 people and injuring over 25 others.

The crash occurred around 4.30 am under the Baldev police station limits, when at least seven buses and three smaller vehicles slammed into one another amid near-zero visibility.

"The vehicles collided due to low visibility on the Agra-to-Noida stretch of the Yamuna Expressway. Some vehicles also caught fire. All injured have been sent to the hospital," Mathura Senior Superintendent of Police Shlok Kumar said.

All 13 died of burns and two of the deceased were identified as 44-year-old Akhilendra Pratap Yadav, a resident of Prayagraj and 75-year-old Rampal, from Maharajganj district, Baldev Police Station SHO Ranjana Sachan confirmed.

Of the injured, fifteen were admitted to the district hospital, nine to a community health centre and a private hospital in Baldev, and two to SN Medical College in Agra, Sachan said.

Visuals from the spot revealed charred remains of buses that caught fire. Cranes were called in to remove them from the road.

Remains of burnt vehicles in the accident site (Photo: @mathurapolice/X)

According to a statement posted by Mathura Police on a social media platform, the pile-up at Milestone 127 involved seven buses and three smaller vehicles.

"None among the injured are in critical condition," it said.

The passengers were sent to their destinations in government vehicles, the SSP said. Since the road is blocked, diversions have been made, he added.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed his condolences to the kin of the deceased in a microblogging platform.

"...I have instructed the district administration officials to ensure proper treatment for the injured. I pray to Lord Ram to grant peace to the departed souls and a speedy recovery to the injured," Chief Minister Adityanath added.

According to a post from his office, Adityanath announced Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased, and Rs 50,000 each to the injured.

On December 15, fog led to the deaths of three people, two of them police officers, in two separate road accidents involving multiple vehicles in Haryana's Sonipat and Nuh districts.

In the Nuh pileup, two people, including a CISF Inspector, were killed on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.

In Sonipat, a female assistant sub-inspector of police was killed when the car in which she was travelling for work hit a truck that was taking a wrong turn on the highway, police detailed.

PTI