NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th May, 2020) Two trucks collided on Saturday in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, leaving 24 people dead and many others injured, Indian media reported.
The incident occurred in the Auraiya district, around 200 kilometers (more than 124 miles) from Uttar Pradesh's capital of Lucknow, the NDTV broadcaster reported.
One of the trucks carried migrants, who lost their jobs over the COVID-19 lockdown and were heading from the states of Rajasthan and Haryana to their homes in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
"Honourable Chief Minister has taken note of the unfortunate incident in Auraiya. He has expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the laborers who lost their lives. He has also directed that all the injured be provided medical care immediately and the Commissioner and IG Kanpur to visit the site and give the report on the cause of the accident immediately," the office of Uttar Pradesh's Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said in a statement, as quoted by NDTV.
The restrictions, imposed by the Indian government over the COVID-19 pandemic, urged many labor migrants to return home, sometimes via trucks and other vehicles that are not suitable for transporting people. As a result of that, India has faced a sharp increase in the number of deadly accidents. Adityanath has already called on migrants to use trains to return home.
