Near-fatal accident on Agra-Lucknow Expressway after road caves in
Four people narrowly escaped death as their car fell into a 20-feet deep ditch along the Agra Lucknow Expressway this morning. The road had caved in recently after heavy rains, officials said. The family was traveling from Mumbai to Kannauj after buying the new SUV, said Rachit Kumar, who was driving. He applied brakes as soon as he saw the crater, but the car slipped, he said.
They were navigating through Google but lost internet connection
"The incident took place at 6am near Wazidpur Pulia," said Doki police station incharge Nitin Kasana. Kumar was navigating through Google, but the internet connection was fluctuating, so they entered the service road. Despite the life-threatening accident, "all the occupants are safe," Kasana added.
Despite quality, the Expressway is known for accidents
The six-lane Expressway, inaugurated in November'16, is India's longest access-controlled greenfield expressway on which air force jets can land and take off. It was constructed in a record time of 23 months. However, it's known for the alarming number of accidents, most due to over-speeding. According to an RTI query, at least 100 people were killed in 853 accidents on the Expressway during August'17-March'18.
UPEIDA, the constructing agency, to repair road at own cost
The restoration of the caved-in road will now be done "at its own cost" by the Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), which had constructed it, confirmed Chairman Avanish Awasthi. The state government has ordered RITES Ltd, a railways consultancy, to investigate the incident.
Yesterday, 101 people miraculously escaped death in Mexico
The survival of the four even after falling so deep was miraculous. Mexico witnessed something similar yesterday, when an Embraer jet with 101 people onboard crashed while taking off from Durango amid a hail storm. Eighty-five people sustained injuries, but everyone survived. A reporter said some simply walked to a nearby hospital. While Aeromexico, the airline, expressed "deep regret," Embraer has sent a team.
