Dense fog causes 20-car pile-up on Yamuna Expressway, 12 injured

A blanket of fog and haze on the Yamuna Expressway resulted in 20 vehicles crashing into each other at the Yamuna Expressway in Mathura on Thursday morning, injuring 12 people, police said.

Mathura superintendent of police Arun Kumar Singh said a vehicle coming from Agra braked suddenly on the expressway, leading to a pile-up.

“12 people were injured in the accident and we rushed them to three different hospitals in Mathura and Jewar. After the pile-up we have cleared the vehicles from the carriageway for free vehicular movement,” he said.

The injured were rushed to District hospital in Mathura, Life Line hospital and Kailash hospital in Jewar.

Gautam Budh Nagar district and nearby areas were enveloped by a dense smog since Wednesday morning which has led to visibility dropping to barely 300-400 metres.

“Visibility of 300-400 metres is considered extraordinarily poor with respect to the current temperature,” said RK Jenamani, director in-charge of IGI Airport meteorological department.

On Monday, about half a dozen vehicles reportedly collided on the Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) flyway due to poor visibility, a day post Diwali. No one was injured in the collision.

The regional pollution control board said the hazy conditions were due to air pollution. “There is a considerable rise in pollution due to obvious reasons (bursting of crackers). Dust particles are also a major reason for the air pollution,” said Paras Nath, regional manager, Uttar Pradesh pollution control board, Ghaziabad.