The mini truck coming from the opposite direction collided with the van. (Representational)
Nine people, including eight children, were killed and 15 others were injured when a pickup van collided with a mini truck in Uttar Pradesh's Hapur district, the police said today.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the incident and directed officials to provide all possible help and treatment to the injured.
The accident took place around 11 pm on Sunday near Sadikpur village. The victims were returning to their village Salepur Kotla in the pickup van after attending a marriage on Bulandshahr road, they said.
The mini truck coming from the opposite direction collided with the van which was carrying 20 children. The impact of the accident was so severe that the van was torn apart and its occupants were thrown out on the highway, the police said.
The truck driver fled from the spot after the incident, they added.
The injured were rushed to a hospital where doctors declared nine people, including eight children, dead, the police said.
The 15 injured are undergoing treatment.
Six of the children have been identified as Aksha, Sufiyan, Anas, Gayyur, Shifa and Abdul Rehman. The police said the children were in the age group of 8 to 14 years. A 20-year-old man was among those killed in the accident.
The bodies, after postmortem, were sent to Salepur Kotla village.
Hapur District Magistrate Aditi Singh said a letter will be sent to the administration seeking financial assistance to the families of the victims.