Fog Triggers Pile-Up, 4 Killed as 10 Vehicles Catch Fire on Yamuna Expressway

Four people were killed and at least 25 others injured after a massive pile-up involving multiple vehicles on the Yamuna Expressway in Mathura early Tuesday, triggered by poor visibility due to dense fog, police said.

The accident occurred around 4:30 am near milestone 127 in the Baldev area, where at least seven buses and three cars collided. A fire broke out following the crash but was later brought under control.

Mathura Senior Superintendent of Police Shlok Kumar said none of the injured were in critical condition. Of the four people who died, three were travelling in buses and one was in a car.

Mathura SP Suresh Chandra Rawat told news agency ANI that one of the buses involved was a state roadways bus, while the remaining six were private sleeper buses.

An eyewitness said the vehicles caught fire around 4 am. “I was sleeping when the accident happened. The bus was fully occupied, with all seats full,” he said.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took cognisance of the incident and dispatched rescue teams to the spot. He announced an ex gratia payment of ₹2 lakh each to the families of the deceased and directed authorities to ensure the best possible medical treatment for the injured.

Rescue operations involved around a dozen fire tenders and 14 ambulances, which transported the injured to the nearest Community Health Centre in Baldev.

The incident comes amid a series of accidents linked to low visibility during the winter fog. On Monday, a similar pile-up involving 18 vehicles was reported on the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway in Nuh, after a passenger bus rammed into a dumper truck under near-zero visibility, according to National Highways Authority of India officials.