10 Devotees En Route Maha Kumbh Killed As Car Collides With Bus In UP's Meja

19 devotees from Madhya Pradesh returning from Kumbh in the bus also got injured.

Prayagraj: Ten devotees from Korba district of Chhattisgarh going to Maha Kumbh were killed after the car they were travelling collided with a bus in the Meja area on the Prayagraj-Mirzapur highway in the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, police said.

"All the 10 people travelling in the Bolero died in the accident, while those in the bus suffered minor injuries," Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Vivek Chandra Yadav said. Police have admitted the injured to hospital. Prayagraj Police Commissioner Tarun Gauba and DM Ravindra Kumar Mandhad reached the spot. The car was destroyed in the accident.

The deceased include Somnath (28), Ishwari Prasad Jaiswal (56), Bhagirathi Jaiswal (43), Santosh Soni (55), Saurabh Soni, Ajay Banjare, Ganga Das Verma, Shiva Rajput (60), Deepak Verma and Raju Sahu. The bodies have been sent to the SRN Hospital in Prayagraj for autopsy, the DCP said.

10 people from the Korba district of Chhattisgarh were en route to take a bath in Maha Kumbh in a Bolero. According to police, the overspeeding car hit with bus carrying devotees from Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh at around 2 am Saturday.

All the people in the car were seriously injured. On receiving information, police reached the spot and took the passengers in the car stuck in the cabin out with the help of locals. The injured passengers of the car and bus were taken to the hospital. Doctors declared all 10 passengers in the car dead.

Rajesh Upadhyay, Station-in-charge of the Meja Police Station said that an investigation is underway into the incident.

In a separate incident, 19 Maha Kumbh devotees from Andhra Pradesh were injured when a bus collided with a truck on Friday night.

President Murmu Condoles Loss Of Lives

President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday condoled the loss of lives in a road accident in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj and prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured.

Ten people travelling in a Bolero car were killed in a head-on collision with a bus on a highway in the Meja police station area of Prayagraj late Friday night.

"The news of the death of many people in a road accident on Mirzapur Highway in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh is extremely sad. I express my condolences to the families of the deceased. I wish for the speedy recovery of all those injured," Murmu said in a post on X in Hindi

CM Expresses Grief

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over the loss of lives in the accident.

In a post on X, the chief minister's office said, "UPCM @myogiadityanath has expressed deep condolences on the loss of lives in a road accident in Prayagraj district. He has expressed condolences to the bereaved families."

"The injured have been sent to the hospital and the chief minister has directed the district administration to provide them with proper treatment. He has also wished for the speedy recovery of the injured," it said.