MATHURA: Four people were killed and 27 passengers injured after a bus rammed into a container truck on the Yamuna Expressway in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura district early Tuesday, police said.
Senior Superintendent of Police Shlok Kumar said the accident took place around 4 am when the bus was going to Delhi from Lucknow.
The bus was carrying passengers beyond its seating capacity and being driven by the conductor instead of the designated driver at the time of the accident, he said, adding the impact left the front portion of the bus completely mangled.
According to officials, most passengers were asleep when the accident occurred.
Several of them got trapped between the seats due to the impact, and rescue teams had to use gas cutters to cut open the mangled bus to extricate them. The rescue operation lasted for nearly two hours.
The deceased have been identified as the bus driver, the conductor, the cleaner and one passenger.
Dr Bhudev Prasad, in-charge of the health department's rapid response team, said 27 injured passengers were brought to the district hospital.
"Some of the injured have been referred to hospitals in Agra, while a few patients from Delhi are also being shifted for further treatment. Two to three injured persons are in a serious condition with fractures in the thigh bone, while the condition of the remaining injured is stable," he said.
The injured were admitted to the district hospital, where District Magistrate Chandra Prakash Singh and SSP Shlok Kumar met them.