Three pilgrims lost their lives, and four others sustained serious injuries after the SUV they were travelling in collided with a truck in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya early on Thursday, officials said. The high-impact accident occurred on the highway near Mubarakganj under the Raunahi police station limits, triggering an immediate rescue operation and causing heavy traffic disruption on the busy route.
According to officials, the collision took place when the speeding SUV rammed into the rear of a truck with tremendous force. The impact was so severe that the roof of the vehicle was completely mangled, the SUV was extensively crushed, and several occupants became trapped inside the wreckage.
Three passengers died on the spot due to the intensity of the crash. District Hospital Dr Pankaj Kumar said, "Seven people were travelling in the SUV. They were heading towards the Ram Temple at the time of the accident. They were from Gonda. Four of them suffered critical injuries and had to be rescued from the severely damaged vehicle."
The force of the collision was so powerful that all four wheels of the SUV were ripped off. After receiving information about the accident, police personnel and rescue teams rushed to the spot along with an ambulance. Rescue workers undertook a painstaking operation to extricate the injured passengers from the mangled vehicle before shifting them to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The injured are currently undergoing medical care, while the bodies of the three deceased have been sent for post-mortem examination. The accident also led to a massive traffic jam on the Lucknow-Ayodhya highway, as the movement of vehicles came to a standstill for some time.
Police and other authorities launched efforts to clear the accident site, remove the damaged vehicles and restore the normal flow of traffic as quickly as possible. Further legal proceedings are underway.