A catastrophic road accident occurred on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in the Kolwa police station area near Dwarapura, leading to a tragic loss of lives and multiple injuries, while a passenger bus, which was traveling from Rishikesh to Indore, collided violently with a truck. The impact of the collision was so severe that both vehicles were immediately engulfed in massive flames, turning into fireballs within moments. According to the latest reports from the site, 8 people have lost their lives in this heart-wrenching incident, while 15 others have sustained serious injuries. The local administration and police reached the spot to manage the situation and initiate rescue operations.
Emergency Response and Administrative Action
Upon receiving information about the accident, Superintendent of Police (SP) Piyush Dixit reached the spot to oversee the rescue efforts. To ensure that the injured received medical attention without any delay, the administration established a green corridor to transport them to the Dausa District Hospital, while additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Yogendra Faujdar, along with a significant police force, has been stationed at the district hospital to coordinate the treatment and assist the victims' families. The police are currently working to identify the deceased and the injured passengers who were on board the bus during the time of the accident.
Public Outrage Over Delayed Rescue
The incident has sparked significant anger among local residents and eyewitnesses regarding the response time of the emergency services. Villagers alleged that the ambulance and fire brigade reached the accident site with a considerable delay. According to local accounts, the information regarding the collision and the subsequent fire was conveyed to the local police and the expressway management control room at approximately 3:20 AM. However, it's claimed that the fire brigade arrived nearly an hour after the report, by which time the fire had already taken a formidable form, while during this period, passengers were trapped inside the burning bus, screaming for help. Eventually, the windows and doors of the bus had to be broken to rescue those stuck inside.
Investigation into the Cause of Accident
Preliminary investigations by the police suggest that the accident might have been caused by the bus driver falling asleep at the wheel. There are also concerns regarding the speed of the bus, which is suspected to have been quite high at the time of the crash, while out of the 8 fatalities, reports indicate that 6 people died due to severe burn injuries, while 2 others succumbed to fatal head injuries sustained during the impact. The police have started scanning the CCTV footage from the cameras installed along the expressway to determine the exact sequence of events and the speed of the vehicles involved. Efforts are ongoing to gather more information about the passengers and their origins as the bus was on a long-distance route from Rishikesh to Indore.