Five killed as car rams into bus on Yamuna e-way

Five people travelling from Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh to Delhi on Monday morning were killed after the car they were travelling in hit a bus on the Yamuna Expressway near Mathura, and both vehicles became engulfed in flames, police officers aware of the matter said.

The officers said the collision took place when the private bus — which was heading from Gaya in Bihar to Noida — swung on the expressway to make a U-turn, and a Maruti Swift car behind the heavy vehicle rammed into it. None of the bus passengers were injured in the incident, they said.

“The accident took place near the 117 milestone of the Yamuna Expressway within the limits of the Mahawan police station of Mathura district,” said Mathura senior superintendent of police (SSP) Shailesh Dubey.

Police identified the deceased as Anshuman Yadav, 28, who was driving the car from his residence in Firozabad to his office in Delhi’s Preet Vihar; and four other people from Firozabad who were living in Govindpuri in Delhi — Sarbar Hussain, 32, Himanshu Yadav, 26, Zayad Khan, 25, and Shiv Kishan Rawat, 26.

It was not immediately clear how the five knew each other, but police suspect that the four passengers used a carpooling mobile app to travel to Delhi in Anshuman Yadav’s car.

Officers said the driver and the conductor of the bus are absconding, but efforts are on to nab them at the earliest.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed his grief at the incident and ordered local officials to ensure all help to the families of the deceased.

Police initially said that the accident occurred after a flat tyre caused the bus to swerve on the expressway, following which the car rammed into it. However, they revised their theory after speaking to the passengers on the bus.

Satya Prakash, one of the passengers, said that the bus had stopped at an eatery on the expressway minutes before the accident. “The bus cleaner asked the driver to turn around as he had spotted some blockades ahead. Initially, the driver disagreed, and started driving the bus towards Noida. However, the driver suddenly agreed to go back, and while he was turning the bus, a car collided with it and both vehicles caught fire. We had to rush out to save ourselves,” Prakash said.

Anshuman Yadav’s family said he had recently gotten married. His father Manoj said, “I was shocked when I saw the body. There was no form. It was just charred mass… The police should take action against the bus driver. It was because of him that the car collided with the bus.”