In the early hours of Tuesday, a mishap occurred on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway, involving a collision between a bus transporting nearly two dozen pilgrims returning from their visit to Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and a truck. Authorities report that approximately 23 individuals sustained injuries, with five of them currently in critical condition, receiving medical attention.

The pilgrims, hailing from various regions of Haryana, had embarked on their journey to Ayodhya to pay homage to Ram Lalla aboard a tourist bus. Their homeward journey through Agra turned tragic when their bus collided with a truck traveling in the opposite direction.

Upon receiving news of the accident, senior police officials and representatives from the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) swiftly arrived at the scene to facilitate the rescue operation. Among the injured passengers were residents from Ambala, Yamuna Nagar, Karnal, and Saharanpur in Haryana.

The incident occurred at approximately 3:30 am, resulting in injuries to 23 out of the 30 passengers aboard the bus, with five individuals sustaining severe injuries, as disclosed by a senior police official.

Inspector Rakesh Kumar Chauhan from the Fatehabad police station, alongside UPEIDA’s chief officer RN Singh and security officer Radhamohan Dwivedi, led the rescue efforts, ensuring the safe extraction of trapped passengers.

The injured parties, including individuals such as Sachin Singh from Karnal, Jaswinder from Yamuna Nagar, and Gaurav Lal from Yamuna Nagar, among others, were promptly transported to the hospital for medical attention. Notable among the seriously injured were Seema Sharma, Mohit, driver Gaurav, Subhash Chandra, and Anita, who are currently receiving treatment at SN Medical College in Agra, according to UPEDA chief officer RN Singh.