Unnao, July 10: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday condoled the death of 18 people who lost their lives in the road accident that took place in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh today morning. In a message that Gandhi posted on his WhatsApp channel, he wrote "The news of the death of several people in a tragic accident on the Agra-Lucknow expressway in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh is extremely sad. I express my deepest condolences to all the bereaved families and hope for the speedy recovery of the injured."

Further, he wrote "The government is requested to provide full assistance to the families of the victim and provide all the possible help in the treatment of the injured. India's workers are requested to cooperate with the administration in relief and rescue operations." Unnao Road Accident: 18 Killed, 19 Injured As Bus Collides With Tanker on Agra-Lucknow Expressway in Uttar Pradesh (Watch Videos).

Earlier today, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had also posted a message on her social media platform X and said "The news of the death of a large number of people in the horrific road accident in Unnao, UP is extremely sad. May God grant peace to the departed souls. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured."

The tragic incident occurred at 5:15 a.m. today when a double-decker sleeper bus travelling from Motihari, Bihar to Delhi hit a milk tanker from behind on the Agra-Lucknow expressway near Gadha village in the Behta Munjawar Police Station area. 18 people were killed in the accident, 19 were injured. Six of the injured were referred to Lucknow, while the rest were taken to the District Hospital in Unnao for better treatment, according to the officials. Twenty people managed to escape unhurt in the incident. Local Administration Providing All Possible Treatment to Injured: Amit Shah on Unnao Accident.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav criticized the BJP government in the state after the accident took place. He wrote in a post on social media platform X that the accident was a result of the negligence of the BJP government.

He wrote "The reason for the death of the 18 people in the accident on the Expressway is the negligence of the BJP government. It is a subject of investigation that, despite the provision of special parking zones on the Expressway, how were vehicles parked on the road? How did the monitoring of the parked vehicle fail despite CCTVs being installed? Are the CCTVs not working?" Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh to the families of the deceased, while Rs 50,000 will be given to the injured.

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