Six killed in Sambhal highway collision between dumper truck and tempo

A horrific road accident in Sambhal district on Sunday morning has claimed six lives, including two young siblings, and left four others critically injured. The tragedy unfolded on the Agra-Moradabad National Highway under Bahjoi police station limits, just 2 kilometers from the district headquarters, when an out-of-control dumper truck laden with sand rammed into a tempo packed with passengers.

According to eyewitnesses, the tempo was traveling in its correct lane when an e-rickshaw ahead suddenly took a U-turn without any signal. In an attempt to avoid hitting the e-rickshaw, the speeding dumper driver lost control of the vehicle. The runaway dumper slammed into the oncoming tempo with such force that the tempo was flung approximately 10 feet away, and its front portion was completely mangled.

After the collision, the dumper also veered off the road, hit a tree, and overturned. The impact was so devastating that bodies were scattered across the highway, and one young man was decapitated. Local residents rushed to the spot after hearing screams and immediately informed the police.

Police personnel who arrived at the scene, with the help of bystanders, pulled the driver and injured passengers trapped inside the tempo wreckage. All injured persons were immediately sent by ambulance to Bahjoi Community Health Centre (CHC), where doctors declared four people dead on arrival, while two others succumbed during treatment.

Police have taken custody of the bodies and sent them for post-mortem. The deceased have been identified as Aaradhya, a 3-month-old infant, and Dhruv, aged 6 years, who were siblings. Also killed were Rohini, aged 20 years, who was the aunt of the two children, Saudan Pal, aged 40 years, the tempo driver, Ruvaid, aged 30 years, and Rampal, aged 35 years.

Traffic on the highway was disrupted for some time following the accident. Police restored normal movement after removing the dumper and tempo with the help of a crane. Police have initiated further legal proceedings in the matter.