Ambedkar Nagar, Oct 2 (IANS) At least four passengers were killed and three others seriously injured after a bus collided head-on with a trailer on the Gorakhpur Link Expressway in Uttar Pradesh’s Ambedkar Nagar district early Friday morning, police said.

The accident took place at around 5:30 a.m. near kilometre 85 of the Gorakhpur Link Expressway, under the jurisdiction of Jaitpur police station. The collision triggered panic in the area, following which local villagers rushed to the spot to assist the passengers and alerted the police.

Police teams reached the site shortly afterwards and, with the help of local residents, carried out a rescue operation and evacuated the passengers trapped inside the bus. The injured were initially taken to the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Nagpur for treatment.

Additional Superintendent of Police Dr Tejveer Singh said police received information about the accident through UP-112 at around 5:30 a.m.

“Information was received through UP-112 that a Volvo bus and a truck had collided near kilometre 85 of the Gorakhpur Link Expressway under Jaitpur police station. The police immediately reached the spot and began rescue operations,” Singh said.

He said the injured passengers were taken to the CHC for medical treatment. During treatment, four passengers were declared dead, while three others were referred to Medical College Sadarpur for further treatment.

According to the Additional Superintendent of Police, a preliminary investigation has indicated that the bus belonged to Tegra Express and was travelling from Delhi to Darbhanga in Bihar.

Prima facie, police suspect that the accident may have occurred after the bus driver allegedly dozed off while driving, resulting in the collision with the trailer.

Police have launched an investigation to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the accident. Efforts are also underway to ascertain the identities of the deceased and injured passengers. Further details are awaited.

The accident comes weeks after another fatal bus incident in the region. In September, a bus caught fire in the Jewar police station area of Greater Noida, resulting in the deaths of nine people. Police and rescue teams managed to evacuate around 30 people from the vehicle.

The bus was travelling from Delhi’s Kashmere Gate to Mahoba when it caught fire. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the President had expressed grief over the incident and conveyed their condolences to the families of those who lost their lives.

–IANS

jk/dpb