Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the victims who died in a road accident in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. The injured will receive Rs 50,000.

The accident occurred when a double-decker sleeper bus rammed into a milk container on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway in Unnao district in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Eighteen people were killed and more than 30 were injured in the accident.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.

In a post on X, Singh said: “The road accident in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh is extremely sad and heart-wrenching. The local administration is busy treating the injured. I express my condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in this accident on their irreparable loss. May God give strength to their families to bear this sorrow.”

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also directed the district administration to provide all possible assistance to the victims of the accident.

The double-decker bus was travelling from Motihari, Bihar, to Delhi when it collided with the milk tanker on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway near Gadha Village in the Behtamujawar Police Station area.

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak visited the hospital in Unnao and met the injured.

“The injured are being shifted to higher-level hospitals. All hospitals close to Unnao are being put on alert,” Pathak told ANI.

He added that most of the injured people are from Bihar and that the UP government is in contact with its Bihar counterpart.

(With ANI input)