Amethi: At least five people were killed and one seriously injured after an ambulance rammed into a jeep parked on the Purvanchal Expressway in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday, officials said.
The ambulance was carrying the body of a construction worker, Ashok Kumar Sharma, who had died in a road accident in Gurgaon on Saturday. His body was being transported to Bihar for the funeral. Sharma was a resident of Rambhadrapur in Samastipur. His son, Satish Kumar Sharma alias Rajkumar, along with three relatives, was accompanying the body. According to police, there were six people in the ambulance, four family members of the deceased and two drivers.
The four family members were from Samastipur, while the drivers, Sarfaraz and Abid, were from Haryana. All five deceased were occupants of the ambulance, while the sixth passenger, Shambhu Rai, sustained serious injuries and is currently undergoing treatment at the district hospital.
Jeep stopped at high speed zone
The jeep, which was traveling from Nuh to Samastipur in Bihar, had stopped at a roadside shop to repair a puncture. The collision occurred around 5.30 am on Sunday.
Jeep driver Vijay Singh told the police that the ambulance, which was reportedly traveling at an estimated speed of 120 km/h, lost control and crashed into the parked vehicle.
Additional Superintendent of Police Shailendra Kumar Singh said, “The deceased include Rajkumar, Ravi Sharma, Phulo Sharma, and the ambulance driver Sarfaraz and helper Abid. Shambhu Rai was critically injured.”
Station house officer Abhinesh Kumar confirmed that all the bodies have been sent for post-mortem.
CM Yogi expresses condolences
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed his condolences over the incident and instructed the administration to carry out relief operations immediately.
The district administration has also launched a toll-free number for the families of the victims to contact authorities for information.
