10 Kumbh Pilgrims Killed in UP Highway Collision

Ten pilgrims traveling to the Maha Kumbh from Chhattisgarh died and 20 others sustained injuries in the early hours of Saturday after their car collided with a bus on the Mirzapur-Prayagraj highway in Uttar Pradesh, police said, adding that they have filed a case against the private bus operator.

- HT Correspondent

PRAYAGRAJ:

Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Vivek Chandra Yadav said the devotees were from Korba district of Chhattisgarh and were heading to the Maha Kumbh to take a dip when the SUV they were traveling in collided head-on with a bus at around 1 a.m. in front of Manu-Ka-Pura village under the Meja police station in Prayagraj district.

He added that all ten occupants of the SUV died in the accident, while 20 passengers of the bus sustained minor injuries. All the passengers in the bus are residents of Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh, and were going to Varanasi and Ayodhya from the Maha Kumbh area after taking a dip in the Sangam.

"The bodies have been taken to Swaroop Rani Medical Hospital for post-mortem examination. Further investigation is going on," he said.

President Droupadi Murmu condoled the loss of lives in the accident and prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured.

"The news of the death of many people in a road accident on Mirzapur Highway in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh is extremely sad. I express my condolences to the families of the deceased. I wish for the speedy recovery of all those injured," she said in a post on X in Hindi.