Car rams bus on Yamuna Expressway, two tourists killed

GREATER NOIDA: Two tourists died and four, including three students from Congo, were injured after a Honda Civic cruising at 110kmph crashed into a mini bus parked off the Yamuna Expressway on Sunday morning.
The accident occurred around 8am at a spot 5km from the Zero Point. A mini bus, carrying 14 tourists to Delhi from Agra, had broken down on the expressway and two of them — Swapan Bhattacharya (56) and Saheb Mandal (24) — had got off the vehicle to look for an alternative transport. They were standing behind the bus when the sedan rammed the vehicle from behind. Bhattacharya and Mandal were sandwiched in between the Civic and the mini bus.
Police said that of the 14 tourists in the bus, nine were from Howrah district in West Bengal. They had gone to see the Taj Mahal and were on their way back to Delhi when the accident occurred. The three Congo nationals, who are students of a college in Greater Noida, had gone on a long drive and were returning to their flat when they rammed into the bus. All three — Lucy (23), John (25) and Dieumerci (25) — suffered grievous injuries and are being treated at a private hospital. The fourth person who was injured was a tourist — Mandal’s sister Sneha (18).
“Dieumerci was driving the car at over 110kmph. He failed to slam the brakes in time and crashed into the bus,” said Avesh Malik, the investigating officer in the case. “Initial investigation has revealed that the group of tourists had come to Delhi on a vacation and gone to see the Taj Mahal, for which they had booked the mini bus. They were returning when their vehicle broke down near Zero Point,” he added.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that the sedan being driven by the students had also grazed past a patrol vehicle just 150 metres from the spot where they crashed into the bus. The police are trying to find out if the three were under the influence of alcohol or drugs. So far, the cops haven’t found any such substance from their car.
“We have received a written complaint from the family of the deceased. An FIR would be registered soon,” Malik said.