At least 8 persons were killed and 30 others injured in separate road collisions. (Representative pic)
At least eight persons were killed and 30 others injured in separate road collisions in various parts of Uttar Pradesh due to a heavy fog considerably dipping visibility the previous night and Wednesday morning.
According to state MeT officials, heavy fog was reported from across the state during the early hours of Wednesday, with visibility plunging down to less than 20 metres in certain areas.
The MeT officials have forecast dense fog during the morning hours in the state for the next two days.
In Bareilly district's Hafiz Ganj, two women were killed and a man injured when the motorcycle they were travelling on was hit by a tractor.
"Sunita Devi (35) and Prabha Devi (36) were killed and Rajyapal was injured when the motorcycle they were travelling on was hit by a tractor on Wednesday morning," said Superintendent of Police (rural) Mukesh Chandra Mishra.
The impact of the accident was so strong that the women were flung in the air and fell several metres away resulting in severe fatal injuries to their head and chest.
"The driver of the tractor could not see the motorcycle in the thick fog. The driver has been detained and we are in the process of lodging an FIR regarding the matter," the SP added.
In another bike-related incident, two men in their 20s were killed when the motorcycle they were on was hit by a dumper truck near the toll plaza in an area under the Handiya Police Station of Prayagraj district.
"One Ashwini (22) and Shivam (23) were killed after their motorcycle was hit by a dumper truck. The driver of the truck failed to notice the bikers in dense fog," said Station House Officer (SHO) Dharmendra Dubey.
In Unnao, adjoining the state capital, a man was killed and at least 15 others injured in a pile-up of three buses, one container truck, and two cars on the Agra-Lucknow expressway last night.
Bangarmau Police Station SHO Gyanendra Singh said, "a bus collided with a container truck from behind due to low visibility caused by a heavy fog." Two other buses later collided with the bus followed by two cars leading to a pileup.
According to police, the victim of the collision was 50-year-old Vijay Kumar, and the 15 injured were all from the buses. They have been admitted to a hospital.
In Baghpat district of western UP, two women were killed and 11 others injured when the van they were travelling in hit a truck in an area under the Khekra Police Station.
"A passenger van collided with a truck on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway during the wee hours of Wednesday," SHO Rajiv Singh said.
Seema, 44, and Mandeep, 38, were killed in the accident. The injured were rushed to a hospital.
"It appears that the accident occurred because the van driver failed to notice the truck due to fog," the SHO said.
In Agra, around a dozen vehicles piled-up on a national highway, leading to the death of one person and injuries to six others, who were admitted to the SN Medical College for treatment, according to police.
The incident took place around 3 am on the Shahdara Bridge in the Trans-Yamuna Police Station area due to fog, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Agra City) Suraj Kumar Rai said.
"Of the seven victims, one died and four are still undergoing treatment at the hospital. All damaged vehicles have been removed from the road except for one whose axle broke down and needs to be repaired. Normal traffic has resumed on the stretch," Rai said.
Among the vehicles which crashed in the Agra pile-up was a pickup truck carrying roosters. A video purported to be of the site showed locals running away with roosters.
The police officer said there is no complaint yet in that matter.
In Etawah, three people were injured after being hit by a truck on the Agra-Kanpur National Highway under Jaswantnagar area of the district Wednesday morning.
According to police, the three were standing on a roadside when they were hit by a truck.
They were admitted to a hospital, where one of them is said to be in a critical state.
At least 12 people were injured in a head-on collision between two buses in Pratapgarh district of eastern UP.
Additional Superintendent of Police Durgesh Singh said, "Two passenger buses coming from opposite directions collided in Bhupiamau area under Kotwali police station area during wee hours on Wednesday.
"Prima facie it appears that the accident occurred because of dense fog in the morning hours. The injured have been admitted to hospital for medical care."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)