The horrific Yamuna Expressway accident occurred around 4 a.m. near milestone 127 under the Baldev police station area. Dense winter fog severely reduced visibility, leading to a chain-reaction collision involving eight buses and three cars. Moments after the initial impact, several vehicles erupted in flames, trapping passengers inside.
The Scene of the Pile-Up and Fire
According to police and eyewitness accounts, the sequence of events unfolded rapidly in the pre-dawn darkness. The driver of a bus applied brakes due to the thick fog, causing vehicles behind to ram into it in a cascading collision. Almost immediately, a fierce fire broke out, engulfing multiple buses.
Eyewitnesses described a scene of terror and chaos. "I was sleeping. When I heard a sound like an explosion, I woke up," said Shalini, a passenger traveling from Gonda to Delhi. "People were jumping out of the windows... explosions started occurring in the buses. One after another, explosions took place in three buses. All of them turned into balls of fire".
Other survivors recounted similar horrors. Prashant Singh, who was on a bus from Lucknow to Delhi, described "sudden loud explosions sounded like gas cylinders bursting," while passengers' mobiles and laptops caught fire inside the bus. Villagers from the nearby area were among the first to respond, rushing to the site where they heard collisions that sounded "like a bomb blast".
Rescue Operations and Aftermath
The scale of the fire and the condition of the vehicles presented severe challenges for rescue teams. A massive operation was launched involving around 50 personnel from the police, fire brigade, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and teams from nine police stations. Eleven fire tenders and numerous ambulances were dispatched to the scene.
The rescue effort lasted approximately six hours, finally concluding around 10:30 a.m., after which traffic on the vital expressway could resume. The human toll was severe. Mathura SSP Shlok Kumar confirmed 13 fatalities, a number that increased from initial counts as charred remains were recovered from the site.
In a grim task, police had to collect dismembered body parts from the gutted buses; the remains were placed in 17 bags and sent for post-mortem examination.
Identification of the victims will require DNA testing due to the severity of the burns. Authorities have so far identified three of the deceased: Rampal from Azamgarh, Sultan from Gonda, and Akhilendra from Prayagraj.
Meanwhile, 66 injured passengers were rushed to hospitals in Mathura, Vrindavan, and Agra. Officials reported that none of the survivors are currently in critical condition.
Official Response and Investigation
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed profound grief over the incident, calling it "extremely tragic and heart-rending". He announced compensation of ā¹2 lakh for the family of each deceased and ā¹50,000 for each injured person. He also directed district officials to ensure the best possible treatment for the injured.
A magisterial inquiry into the Mathura pile-up has been ordered and will be conducted by Additional District Magistrate (Administration) Amresh. The tragedy underscores a deadly pattern of winter accidents in northern India. This incident follows multiple other fog-related crashes in recent days on expressways in Uttar Pradesh and neighboring Haryana, which have claimed numerous lives.
| Aspect | Details |
| Location | Yamuna Expressway, Milestone 127, Mathura |
| Time | Around 4:00 AM, December 16, 2025 |
| Vehicles Involved | 8 buses and 3 cars |
| Casualties | 13 killed, 66 injured |
| Primary Cause | Collision due to low visibility from dense fog |
| Key Response | Magisterial inquiry ordered; ā¹2 lakh ex-gratia announced |
The devastating Yamuna Expressway accident is a stark reminder of the extreme dangers posed by reduced visibility during North India's winter fog season.
As investigations begin to determine the precise causes and any potential lapses, the community is left to mourn the lives lost in a tragedy that has left survivors physically and emotionally scarred.
