Regrettably, tragedy struck late Saturday night in Shahjahanpur, as an unfortunate mishap unfolded involving a truck carrying ballast and a private bus ferrying devotees from Sitapur to Purnagiri. The calamity resulted in the loss of 11 lives, with 10 others sustaining injuries, according to local law enforcement authorities.
Details provided by the police indicate that the incident transpired within the jurisdiction of the Khutar police station in Shahjahanpur district. It was at this juncture that a truck laden with ballast stones collided with a stationary bus parked alongside a roadside dhaba, ultimately overturning onto it and tragically claiming the lives of several devotees.
Ashok Kumar Meena, the Superintendent of Police in Shahjahanpur, recounted, “Shortly before 11 pm, reports reached us of a distressing event unfolding in the Khutar PS vicinity. A bus, occupied by devotees en route to Purnagiri, was stationary, with passengers either seated inside or partaking in refreshments at a local dhaba. Tragically, a loss of control on the part of a passing truck resulted in it overturning onto the bus, leading to the untimely demise of 11 individuals and injuring 10 others. All injured parties have since been transported to nearby medical facilities.”
The unfortunate incident occurred as the bus made a stop at a dhaba along the Gola bypass road in the Khutar area. It was during this interval that a truck laden with stones collided with the bus before toppling over onto it, eliciting panic and chaos at the scene. Prompt intervention by law enforcement personnel sought to extricate trapped passengers from the wreckage. Following an arduous three-hour-long rescue operation, 10 individuals were successfully rescued, albeit with 11 fatalities. The injured were promptly admitted to the local medical college, with women and children among the casualties.
Eyewitness accounts suggest that residents of Barajetha village in the Sidhauli area of Sitapur district were en route to Maa Purnagiri for darshan on Saturday evening. Traveling aboard a private bus, their journey came to an abrupt halt at a dhaba on the Gola bypass road in Shahjahanpur’s Khutar area, where passengers disembarked to partake in refreshments. Tragedy struck at approximately 11:20 pm when a truck laden with ballast collided forcefully with the bus, resulting in a catastrophic overturning. The ensuing chaos saw several passengers trapped beneath the vehicle amidst a cascade of gravel, punctuated by the harrowing sounds of anguish. District Magistrate Umesh Pratap Singh and Superintendent of Police Ashok Kumar Meena arrived at the scene shortly before 12:50 am, coordinating efforts alongside rescue personnel and deploying cranes to extricate survivors and retrieve the deceased.