Bus crash kills 29 in India

At least 29 people were killed and 18 others injured when a bus careered off a notorious Indian highway after the driver apparently fell asleep at the wheel, officials said yesterday.

The bus was carrying more than 50 people along the Yamuna expressway—known as the “highway to hell” because of the number of fatal accidents—when it crashed through a concrete barrier and plunged more than 12 metres (40 feet) into a drainage canal.

“It appears that the driver was drowsy,” said Agra district magistrate N.G. Ravi Kumar, who provided the number of dead and injured.

The bus was travelling from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh to Delhi when the accident happened just before dawn, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) near Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. More than 150,000 people a year are killed on India’s roads, which are notorious for design flaws and speeding drivers.

The 165-kilometre (100-mile) Yamuna expressway was India’s longest and most modern six-lane highway when it opened in 2012, but about 900 people have been killed on the road since, according to authorities.

 

Bus crash kills 29 in India

At least 29 people were killed and 18 others injured when a bus careered off a notorious Indian highway after the driver apparently fell asleep at the wheel, officials said yesterday. The bus was carrying more than 50 people along the Yamuna expresswayknown as the highway to hell because of the number of fatal accidentswhen it crashed through a concrete barrier and plunged more than 12 metres (40 feet) into a drainage canal. It appears that the driver was drowsy, said Agra district magistrate N.G. Ravi Kumar, who provided the number of dead and injured. The bus was travelling from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh to Delhi when the accident happened just before dawn, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) near Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. More than 150,000 people a year are killed on Indias roads, which are notorious for design flaws and speeding drivers. The 165-kilometre (100-mile) Yamuna expressway was Indias longest and most modern six-lane highway when it opened in 2012, but about 900 people have been killed on the road since, according to authorities.