14 killed as truck falls into Uttar Pradesh canal

Lucknow: Fourteen people were killed and more than 24 were injured after a mini-bus fell into a canal in Etah district of Uttar Pradesh in the wee hours of Friday.

UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.

The accident took place in Sarai Neem when the vehicle carrying passengers from a pre-wedding function overturned and fell into a roadside canal.

Senior district officials, including the district magistrate and the SSP, rushed to the spot to oversee rescue and relief operations. The injured were sent to S.N. Medical college in Agra, where condition of at least four others was said to be critical. All the deceased were reportedly from Agra.

Officials said the people involved in the accident were returning from Kundal Nagariya village on Fatehabad road when their vehicle, apparently negotiating a steep turn at a high speed, overturned and fell into the pit.

Eyewitnesses said the driver fell asleep, following which he lost control of the vehicle.

The bodies have been sent for post mortem. According to local reports, the truck was speeding in excess of 80 kmph even when the road was turning.