Fog horror: Delhi-Agra Expressway crash kills 4, injures 25

In the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday, a dense blanket of winter fog reduced visibility to near zero along the Delhi-Agra (Yamuna) Expressway, triggering a catastrophic chain collision that left at least four dead and dozens injured as buses and cars ploughed into one another and burst into flames.

Emergency services raced to the site of the accident in Mathura district shortly after multiple vehicles — including seven buses and three cars — collided on the fast-moving corridor connecting India’s capital region with Uttar Pradesh’s historic city of Agra. The impact and subsequent ignition of fuel tanks led to several vehicles catching fire, sending plumes of black smoke skyward.

Senior Superintendent of Police Shlok Kumar confirmed that search and rescue teams, including local police, fire crews and medical responders, were immediately deployed as the scene unfolded in heavy fog. Four individuals were declared dead at the scene, and around 25 people were treated for injuries ranging from burns to shock and minor trauma, according to NDTV.

An eyewitness described waking to impenetrable fog, only to be met with the sound of a massive collision as vehicles ploughed into one another in what authorities termed a chain-reaction crash. A Times of India report says emergency officials are prioritising treatment of the injured and evacuating survivors from the scorched highway.

District Magistrate Chandra Prakash Singh said the cause was under investigation but pointed to the “extremely low visibility” as the primary factor. Officials noted that despite the scale of the crash and fire, most of the injured were stable, and rescue operations were well underway by mid-morning.

The accident has reignited concerns over road safety during winter fog in northern India, where dense mist routinely shrouds expressways and highways, contributing to a spate of pile-ups in recent days. Traffic authorities have in the past instituted speed curbs on major expressways during heavy fog seasons in an attempt to reduce similar disasters.