LUCKNOW: Five persons riding two different motorcycles were killed in a road accident in Masauli police station area of Barabanki district on Saturday.
In the accident, a speeding loader coming from the wrong direction hit the victims at the Barabanki-Bahraich highway.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the death of the victims and directed officials for assistance.
Police said the deceased were identified as Deepak Kumar Gautam, (18), Abhishek (24) and their uncle Shubhkaran Kumar (30), all of Kinhauli village in Masauli and riding the one of the motorcycles and Prashant Dwivedi (23) and Pankaj Mishra (22) of Lakhpedabagh of Barabanki, both riding another motorcycle. Pankaj was a native of Gonda district and was staying in Lakhpedabagh locality.
SP, Barabanki, Anurag Vats, told TOI that the loader driver took the wrong side (other side of the road) to overtake a roadways bus and in the process it hit the motorcycles coming from an opposite direction. The victims were going towards Ram Nagar locality in Barabanki while the loader was coming from Ram Nagar side.
The incident was reported around 3.30 pm. The eyewitnesses told police that the victims riding the motorcycles were tossed up in the air before falling in the tickets at the roadside. They said four of the victims were killed at the spot while the fifth died at the district hospital in Barabanki.
“The loader driver did not stop even after seeing the motorcycles coming from the opposite direction and hearing people’s cry to avert the mishap. The driver sped off the scene after the incident abandoning the loader a few metres away from the crime scene,” the eyewitnesses said. Police later arrested the loader driver.
