Mathura, Dec 16: Thirteen people died of burns, and 35 sustained injuries when a vehicle pile-up on the Yamuna Expressway here early Tuesday sparked a big fire, a police officer said.

At least seven buses and three smaller vehicles collided with each other in the dense fog around 4.30 am, the officer said.

The incident occurred under the Baldev Police Station jurisdiction.

“The vehicles collided due to low visibility on the Agra-to-Noida side of the Yamuna Expressway. Some vehicles also caught fire. All injured have been sent to the hospital,” Mathura Senior Superintendent of Police Shlok Kumar said.

Two of the deceased were identified as 44-year-old Akhilendra Pratap Yadav, a resident of Prayagraj, and 75-year-old Rampal, from Maharajganj district, Baldev Police Station SHO Ranjana Sachan said.

All 13 died of burns, she said.

Of the injured, fifteen were admitted to the district hospital, nine each to a community health centre and a private hospital in Baldev, and two to SN Medical College, Agra, Sachan said.

Visuals from the spot revealed charred remains of buses that caught fire.

Cranes were called in to remove them from the road.

According to a Mathura Police statement on X, the pile-up at Milestone 127 involved seven buses and three smaller vehicles.

“None of the injured are in critical condition,” it said.

The passengers were sent to their destinations in government vehicles, the SSP said. Since the road is blocked, diversions have been made, he added.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, in a post on X in Hindi, expressed his condolences to the kin of the deceased.

“The loss of life in the road accident on the Yamuna Expressway in Mathura district is extremely tragic and heartbreaking. My deepest condolences are with the bereaved families,” he said.

“I have instructed the district administration officials to ensure proper treatment for the injured. I pray to Lord Ram to grant peace to the departed souls and a speedy recovery to the injured,” Adityanath said.

According to a post from his office, Adityanath announced Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased, and Rs 50,000 each to the injured.

On Monday, fog led to the deaths of three people, two of them police officers, in two separate road accidents involving multiple vehicles in Haryana’s Sonipat and Nuh districts.

In the Nuh pileup, two people, including a CISF Inspector, were killed on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.

In Sonipat, a female assistant sub-inspector of police was killed when the car in which she was travelling for work hit a truck that was taking a wrong turn on the highway, police said.

Mathura, Dec 16: Four people were killed and over two dozen were injured in an early Tuesday vehicle pile-up on the Yamuna Expressway here, a police officer said.

At least seven buses and several smaller vehicles collided with each other in the dense fog around 4.30 am, the officer said.

The incident occurred under the Baldev Police Station jurisdiction.

“Four people died, and 25 were injured in the accident. The vehicles collided due to low visibility on the Agra-to-Noida side of the Yamuna Expressway. Some vehicles also caught fire. All injured have been sent to the hospital,” SSP Mathura Shlok Kumar said.

The passengers were sent to their destinations in government vehicles, the officer said. Since the road is blocked, diversions have been made, he added.

Visuals from the spot revealed charred remains of buses that caught fire.

Cranes were called in to remove them from the road.

According to a Mathura Police statement on X, the pile-up at Milestone 127 involved seven buses and three smaller vehicles.

“None of the injured are in critical condition,” it said.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, in a post on X in Hindi, expressed his condolences to the kin of the deceased.

“The loss of life in the road accident on the Yamuna Expressway in Mathura district is extremely tragic and heartbreaking. My deepest condolences are with the bereaved families,” he said.

“I have instructed the district administration officials to ensure proper treatment for the injured. I pray to Lord Ram to grant peace to the departed souls and a speedy recovery to the injured,” Adityanath said.

New Delhi, Dec 16: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday lauded the valour of the armed forces on Vijay Diwas — the day the Indian Army defeated Pakistan in the 1971 War.

“On Vijay Diwas, we remember the brave soldiers whose courage and sacrifice ensured India had a historic victory in 1971. Their steadfast resolve and selfless service protected our nation and etched a moment of pride in our history,” Modi said.

“This day stands as a salute to their valour and a reminder of their unmatched spirit. Their heroism continues to inspire generations of Indians,” he said.

Vijay Diwas is celebrated on December 16 every year to honour the soldiers who fought in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, which culminated in the surrender of Pakistan’s Army.

Around 93,000 Pakistani soldiers, led by General A A Khan Niazi, laid down their arms in what was one of the largest surrenders seen since World War II.

Mathura, Dec16: Several buses caught fire on the Delhi-Agra Expressway during early hours of Tuesday in Mathura.

Casualties feared. Further details are awaited.

It’s worth mentioning that yesterday, several cities across Uttar Pradesh woke up to thick smog on Monday morning, as air quality deteriorated in different parts of the state and visibility dropped sharply.

Agra was shrouded in dense fog, making the Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, completely invisible to the public. A local resident said the fog was so thick that even vehicles were difficult to see on the roads.