Bus driver was speeding throughout the journey, says teenager who lost 6 of his family in UP expressway mishap
Dilshad, 17, was in excruciating pain when he arrived at the Unnao district hospital, but was more inclined to know about the well-being of his kin. Later, he came to know about their death
KANPUR A passenger, Dilshad, 17, who was travelling in the ill-fated double-decker bus, lost six of his family members in the mishap on Lucknow-Agra Expressway on Wednesday. He was admitted to the district hospital in Unnao with head and leg injuries after the accident.
“We were sleeping at the time of the accident and woke up to find ourselves trapped inside the bus. Those who reached the spot were busy recording videos instead of helping,” he lamented. He said the bus driver was speeding all night.
His father Ashfaq, mother Ruby, sister Gulnaz, uncle Sonu, aunt Soni, and three-year-old brother Suhail lost their lives in the accident. They were seated on the left side of the bus that was scraped off when the collision occurred.
However, his other brother Sahil, 14, survived.
Dilshad was in excruciating pain when he arrived at the hospital, but was more inclined to know about his kins’ well-being.
Weeping inconsolably, he pleaded for help in locating his family. Subsequently, circle officer (Bangarmau) Arvind Chaurasia mobilised doctors from the district hospital and the SDM via video call. But in just 30 minutes, Dilshad’s world collapsed when he came to know about the demise of his family members.
Later, Dilshad identified six members of his family – Ashfaq, 45, Ruby, 40, Gulnaz, 13, Suhail, 3, Mohd Ilyas (Sonu), 35, and Shamsun Nisa (Soni), 28 in the post-mortem house.
Dilshad and his family hail from Motihari (Bihar) and reside in Dondli, Modi Nagar, Meerut, where his father and other family members worked. Like others, they had paid ₹3,400 per person to the travel agency for the journey.