Nine persons were killed on Saturday in Uttar Pradesh when their vehicle travelling at high speed rammed into a truck parked on the roadside in Lakhimpur Kheri, police said.
Nine of the 17 people in the minivan were killed instantaneously. The injured were rushed to a hospital, where the condition of three is said to be critical.
The accident on NH-24 apparently took place as the driver had dozed off at the wheel around 6 am, a police officer said.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed condolences on the loss of lives. He ordered the district administration to ensure proper treatment to the injured, a government spokesman told IANS.