Seventeen lives were lost, and at least 89 people were injured in a devastating multi-vehicle pile-up on the Yamuna Expressway in the early hours of Tuesday, once again exposing the harsh reality that fatal accidents on Uttar Pradesh’s major highways continue unabated, despite repeated assurances of heightened police vigil and patrolling.
The crash occurred amid dense fog between 3.30 am and 4 am near Milestone 127, under the jurisdiction of Baldev Police Station in Mathura district.
At least 15 vehicles, including eight buses carrying nearly 400 passengers, were involved in the collision, which quickly escalated into a massive fireball.
Several vehicles were reduced to charred, twisted metal, turning the expressway into a scene of devastation.
Police officials confirmed that 15 victims died after being trapped in flames, while two others succumbed to severe injuries.
Among those identified were Akhilendra Pratap Yadav (44) of Prayagraj, Rampal (75) of Maharajganj, and Sultan Ahmad (62) from Gonda district. Many bodies were so badly burnt that identification remains a challenge.
Fog, Speed, and a Missing Vigil
While authorities have attributed the accident primarily to poor visibility caused by dense fog, the scale and intensity of the tragedy point to a deeper, systemic failure.
During such hazardous winter conditions, the primary responsibility of drivers—especially those operating buses and commercial vehicles—is to slow down drastically and exercise extreme caution.
However, the manner in which one collision cascaded into a deadly inferno involving multiple buses strongly suggests that strict driving discipline and situational awareness were missing.
The absence of CCTV cameras at the accident site has further complicated efforts to reconstruct the sequence of events and fix responsibility.
Preliminary findings indicate that an Ertiga car collided with a Brezza, leading to a fire, after which several vehicles—most of them buses heading towards Noida—rammed into the burning wreckage.
Once the fire spread, passengers were left struggling to escape.
Six-Hour Rescue Amid Flames and Chaos
As flames engulfed vehicles, 11 fire tenders were rushed to the site. Rescue and firefighting operations continued for nearly six hours, with cranes deployed to remove the mangled remains of buses and cars.
Visuals from the scene showed a haunting aftermath—burnt-out shells where passengers had moments earlier been sleeping or chatting.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of panic and horror.
“It felt like a bomb blast,” said a passerby. “People were smashing bus windows to escape.”
Another heartbreaking account came from Guljari Lal of Hamirpur, who was desperately searching hospitals for his sister-in-law, Parvati (45).
“She broke the bus window and pushed her children out, but she got trapped inside,” he said, his voice breaking. “I am still looking for her.”
Condolences, Compensation—and Unanswered Questions
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, Vice-President C P Radhakrishnan, and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed deep grief over the tragedy.
The Prime Minister announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh for the families of the deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.
The Uttar Pradesh government also announced similar compensation.
District Magistrate Chandra Prakash Singh ordered a four-member inquiry team to submit a report within two days and sought an explanation from the Yamuna Authority on the circumstances leading to the disaster.
A Pattern That Refuses to Break
Yet, beyond compensation and condolences lies a disturbing pattern.
Despite repeated statements from the UP DGP about enhanced highway patrolling, safety monitoring, and vigilance, highways across the state continue to claim lives with frightening regularity.
What makes this tragedy even more troubling is that fatal accidents have not paused even outside the winter months.
Summer or winter, fog or clear skies, major highways continue to turn into death traps—suggesting that the problem is not seasonal, but structural.
Families travelling overnight, workers heading to cities, pilgrims on buses—entire communities are being shattered in moments of negligence.
Until strict enforcement of speed norms, real-time monitoring, accountability of drivers, and preventive policing become visible on the ground, such tragedies will continue to repeat themselves.
This was not just an accident.
It was a warning—written in fire, smoke, and silence.
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