In a major accident, seven buses and three cars collided and caught fire amid dense smog on the Delhi-Agra Expressway in Mathura in the early hours of Tuesday. At least four people were killed and over 20 others injured in the incident.
Teams from the fire service, local police, and local administration have arrived at the site to initiate rescue operations.
According to officials, the visibility had sharply reduced as a thick layer of smog enveloped the area, leading to a multi-vehicle pile-up.
“The accident took place at Milestone 127 on the Agra-Noida lane of the expressway. There was a collision of three cars, after which seven buses collided with them, of which 1 is a roadway bus, and the other six are sleeper buses," SP Mathura Rural, Suresh Chandra Rawat, told ANI.
“Four dead bodies have been recovered so far. Rescue work is underway," he added.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shlok Kumar told reporters that the collision occurred due to dense smog.
"As you can observe, it is still foggy here. This poor visibility is what caused approximately seven buses and three small cars to collide with each other," he said.
The SSP further said that at least 25 people have been admitted to a hospital with injuries.
"Additionally, we are arranging for the remaining people present here to be transported to their homes via government vehicles," he added.
According to eyewitnesses, several vehicles catching fire triggered panic among passengers, many of whom attempted to jump out of the vehicle to save their lives.
"An accident took place, and nearly 3-4 buses caught fire. I was sleeping when the accident occurred. The bus was fully occupied. All the seats were full," one of the passengers told ANI.
It may be noted that several cities across Uttar Pradesh woke up to thick smog on Monday morning, as air quality deteriorated in different parts of the state and visibility dropped sharply.