Twelve people, including three women, died on Thursday morning when their autorickshaw collided head-on with a container truck plying on the wrong side of the road amid reduced visibility due to fog, police said.
The occupants of the autorickshaw were going to Farrukhabad to take a bath in the Ganga river on the occasion of ‘Purnima’, they said.
The tragic accident took place on the Bareilly-Farrukhabad road near Sugsugi village in the Allahaganj police station area, about 50 kilometers from the city, Superintendent of Police (SP) Ashok Kumar Meena said.
The container hit the autorickshaw coming from the Jalalabad side, killing all 12 passengers, who were going to Ghatia Ghat, Farrukhabad to take a bath in the Ganga on the occasion of ‘Purnima’, on the spot, he said.
Earlier, the SP had said the autorickshaw had collided with a tanker. However, after reaching the spot, he said it was found that the autorickshaw was hit by a container truck.
Meena said the deceased were identified as Lalaram (30) and his brother Puttu Lal (50), Shivpal (45), Surendra Kashyap (50), Ankush (50), Anant Ram (35) and his wife Basanta Devi (70), Maniram (45), Pothiram (50), Rampa Devi (45), Rupa Devi (50) and Adesh (20).
The container truck driver fled from the spot after the accident. Later, his vehicle was found abandoned 12 kilometers away from the accident spot. Efforts are being made to arrest the driver, police said.
Eyewitnesses said all passengers of the autorickshaw fell on the road due to the impact of the collision and some got stuck between the two vehicles.
The autorickshaw got stuck under the container truck. The truck driver moved his vehicle back and forth to release the autorickshaw, crushing the injured lying on the road, they said.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath condoled the loss of lives in the accident.
