Low visibility triggers pile-ups in NCR; 4 die

With a blanket of smog over Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), visibility dropped to as low as 10 metres and at least four people were killed and 35 others were injured in several accidents on Monday morning.

- Leena Dhankhar, Debashish Karmakar and Arun Singh

At least 18 vehicles were involved in a pileup on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Haryana’s Nuh at 7.30 am, killing two people on the spot. According to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the collision began with a passenger bus ramming into a dumper truck as a result of the near-zero visibility. A car then crashed into the bus, with subsequent vehicles ploughing into the wreckage within minutes. “Within 15 minutes, nearly 18 vehicles had collided as visibility was barely 10-15 metres,” a senior NHAI official said.

Harish Sharma from Alwar, a 46-year-old CISF inspector, and 44-year-old Jaipur-based businessman Sheikh Mohammad Khalil died in the accident. More than 30 people were injured, with one in critical condition, police said.