At least 16 people were killed and six injured in a road accident on the Kanpur-Allahabad highway in the Sachendi area of this Uttar Pradesh district late on Tuesday evening, police said.
Two among the injured are said to be critical, they added.
Kanpur Outer's Superintendent of Police Ashtbhuja Prasad Singh said the accident occurred in the Kisan Nagar area when a speeding bus hit a loader, which fell on the other side of the highway, while the bus also overturned and fell into a ditch.
Expressing condolences over the road accident in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives in the tragedy.
"The road accident in Kanpur is tragic. Many people have lost their lives in this accident. I express my condolences to their families, and wish the injured a speedy recovery," said PM Modi, as quoted by the Prime Minister's Office.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also announced an ex gratia amount of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased and ordered an inquiry into the incident.
The collision was so strong that almost all passengers of both the vehicles got trapped and some of them died on the spot, the SP said.
GSVM college principal RB Kamal told PTI over the phone that at least 16 people were killed, while five were admitted at the Lala Lajpat Rai hospital with serious injuries.
The condition of two was said to be very critical, he said.
A heavy police force, comprising personnel from half-a-dozen police stations, was dispatched to the site of the accident.
The policemen extricated the passengers and found that many of them were already dead.
An official spokesperson in Lucknow said the chief minister has expressed grief over the loss of lives in the road accident in Kanpur and directed senior officials to immediately rush to the spot.
The chief minister has also directed for extending immediate help and ensuring proper treatment to the injured persons.
