Etawah (Uttar Pradesh): At least six farmers were killed and another injured after the truck they were travelling in collided with another speeding truck in Friends Colony area in Uttar Pradesh's Etawah district on Tuesday night.
All the farmers had gone to sell vegetables and were reportedly returning home.
Five persons died on the spot while one succumbed to injuries in the hospital. One person has been seriously injured in the mishap.
Gopal Yadav, district president, SP The farmers were travelling on a mini-truck when they were hit by another speeding truck in Friends Colony area on National highway 2.
SSP Etawah Akash Tomar reached the site on receiving information about the accident and shifted the injured to the mini-PGI in Sefai.
"The bodies are being sent for post mortem and further investigations are on," the SSP said.
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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over the incident and has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured farmer.
'Cops did not act in time'
One of the deceased's brother alleged that he had informed the cops about the accident after it had accurred at around 9.30 pm last night, but they did not pay heed.
"We told them that bodies might be trapped in the stream, but the cops wasted a lot of time. Finally, at around 1 am, a few of us ourselves went to the spot," he said, adding that a few others could have been saved if the police had acted on time.
Samajwadi Party blames authorities
Gopal Yadav, the Samajwadi Party district president blamed the authorities for their lax attitude, saying that even though the accident happened at aroun 9.30 pm, bodies were not recovered untill 1 am.
Further, he demanded that the government provide Rs 20 lakh each to the kin of the deceased.
(With inputs from agencies)
