What happened here
Cause not yet confirmed; police are trying to trace the unidentified truck and the cause. Reports say it hit from behind a trolley carrying about 20 labourers going home for Chhath. Lesson: a goods trolley is not meant to carry people, so festival travellers need a vehicle permitted to carry passengers. In the early hours or morning of Tuesday 10 November 2026, a truck hit from behind a trolley full of labourers on the Purvanchal Expressway in Sultanpur district, Uttar Pradesh. Dainik Bhaskar (Kurebhar, Sultanpur) says the crash happened at km 118.8 in the early hours (tadke) of Tuesday and that the workers were going from Delhi to Bihar for Chhath. Dainik Jagran (11.04 am IST) says the workers, 20 of them, were travelling from Delhi to Saharsa in Bihar in a tractor-trolley; the truck hit the trolley hard from behind and the workers were thrown onto the road. One worker died on the spot and 16 others were injured. Police took the injured to the Kurebhar community health centre, where Dr Zahir Khan's team gave first aid, and all 16 were referred to the government medical college; six are in serious condition, and Jagran says six were referred on to the Lucknow trauma centre. The Circle Officer, Baldirai, reached the hospital, and traffic on the expressway returned to normal. Jagran says police are trying to trace the unidentified truck that hit the trolley and to find out the cause. The Bhaskar page we could open shows only the opening lines. Amar Ujala headlines say the same toll of one dead and 16 hurt; a video headline says 10 or more injured. We give no names. Figures are from the reports opened on 10 November 2026 (IST) and may change.
Quick answers
What happened on the Purvanchal Expressway near Sultanpur?
On the morning of 10 November 2026 a truck hit from behind a tractor-trolley carrying about 20 labourers from Delhi to Saharsa for Chhath, at km 118.8. One worker died on the spot and 16 were injured, six seriously.
Who were the injured?
Labourers returning home for Chhath. We give no names.
Has the truck been found?
Not in the reports we opened. Police are tracing the unidentified truck and the cause.
Where were the injured treated?
At the Kurebhar community health centre, then the government medical college; six were referred to the Lucknow trauma centre, says Dainik Jagran.
How can workers travel home safely for festivals?
Book a bus or train seat early, avoid goods vehicles, and ask your employer for safe transport. See: Driving home at night after a wedding or family…
What should I do at a crash?
Call 112 and 108, stay out of the lane, put on hazard lights, do not move an injured person unless there is fire, and keep the road clear for the ambulance.
Is there a Sultanpur safety guide?
Not yet; this case shows one is needed.
What happened
On the morning of Tuesday, 10 November 2026, a truck hit a trolley full of labourers from behind on the Purvanchal Expressway in Sultanpur district, Uttar Pradesh. Dainik Jagran says 20 workers were going from Delhi to Saharsa in Bihar to celebrate Chhath, and that the truck hit the tractor-trolley hard at km 118.8. The workers were thrown onto the road. One died on the spot and 16 were injured. Police took the injured to the Kurebhar community health centre, where a doctor’s team gave first aid, and then referred all 16 to the government medical college. Six are in serious condition, and Jagran says six were sent on to the trauma centre in Lucknow.
Dainik Bhaskar’s Kurebhar report, whose opening lines we could open, says the crash happened in the early hours of Tuesday at km 118.8 and gives the same toll. Police are trying to trace the unidentified truck and to find the cause. Traffic on the expressway was running normally by late morning. We give no names; the injured are named in some reports.
What the reports say
- What happened: A speeding truck hit a trolley carrying workers from behind on the Purvanchal Expressway at km 118.8, near Kurebhar, Sultanpur (Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar).
- The toll: One worker dead, 16 injured, six in serious condition (Dainik Jagran); one dead and 16 hurt (Dainik Bhaskar lead).
- The journey: About 20 labourers travelling from Delhi to Saharsa in Bihar for Chhath (Dainik Jagran); Delhi to Bihar for Chhath puja (Dainik Bhaskar).
- Treatment: First aid at the Kurebhar community health centre, then the government medical college; six referred to the Lucknow trauma centre (Dainik Jagran).
- Police: The Circle Officer, Baldirai, visited the hospital and spoke to the doctors; police are tracing the unidentified truck and finding the cause (Dainik Jagran).
- Traffic: The expressway saw a short spell of chaos and then normal movement (Dainik Jagran).
Where reports differ and what we do not know
- Vehicle: Jagran’s headline and text say tractor-trolley and also trolley; Bhaskar says trolley. We do not know whether a tractor was attached.
- Number aboard: Jagran says 20; one dead and 16 hurt makes 17, so the fate of the other three is not stated.
- Referrals: Jagran says all 16 went to the medical college and six of them were referred on to Lucknow; a video headline says 10 or more injured. We use the Jagran figures.
- Time: Bhaskar says tadke, in the early hours; Jagran says morning. We say early morning of Tuesday 10 November.
- Not known: The truck’s identity and speed, the cause, whether the trolley was moving or stopped, lights and reflectors, the identity of the seriously injured and whether the toll will rise.
What this case teaches
Every Chhath and Diwali, workers who cannot get a ticket go home on whatever is available, and a farm trolley with 20 people on it is a very poor protection against a truck that does not slow down. A truck driver hitting from behind at expressway speed in early morning mist or haze may not have seen it at all. The practical answers are early festival buses and trains for workers, reflective tape and lights on slow and loaded vehicles, and a habit of keeping several seconds behind the vehicle in front. We do not know the cause here, and the police have not named one.
See also our cases on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway Chhath bus overturn, the Sitapur tractor-trolley crash and the Chitrakoot tractor-trolley overturn, and our guides to driving home at night, road crash emergency response and Chhath and Dev Diwali safety.
- About 20 labourers are travelling from Delhi to Saharsa, Bihar, to celebrate Chhath at home, in a tractor-trolley (Dainik Jagran); when they left is not reported
- At km 118.8 of the Purvanchal Expressway near Kurebhar, a truck hits the trolley from behind; one worker dies on the spot and 16 are hurt
- Police take the injured to the Kurebhar community health centre; a doctor's team gives first aid
- All 16 are referred to the government medical college; six, in serious condition, are sent on to the Lucknow trauma centre (Jagran); the Circle Officer, Baldirai, visits the hospital
- Traffic on the expressway is running normally; police are tracing the truck and the cause (Jagran)
Why consequences escalated
- A truck hit a trolley of about 20 labourers on the Purvanchal Expressway at km 118.8 on the morning of 10 November 2026; one worker died and 16 were hurt, six seriously.
- The workers were going home for Chhath, from Delhi to Saharsa in Bihar.
- The truck is unidentified and the cause is not stated.
- Jagran calls the vehicle a tractor-trolley; the exact type and whether it carried reflective marking or lights are not reported.
- The state of the six seriously injured is the biggest unknown; the death toll could change.
Failures and risk multipliers
- No finding of fault has been made and none is stated here; the truck driver is not identified.
- It is not reported how fast the truck was going, whether the driver was tired, or whether the trolley was stopped, slow or moving.
- It is not reported whether the trolley had reflective tape, a rear light or hazard lights.
- Carrying about 20 people in a farm or goods trolley meant for loads leaves them without seats, belts or a roof; whether that arrangement was lawful is for the police to say.
- Why labourers go home in such vehicles in the festival rush, rather than in buses or trains, is a question about fares, tickets and timing that this page does not answer.
Actions that reduce risk
- Workers and families: if you can, book a train or bus seat early for Chhath and Diwali; a goods trolley has no seats or belts and is not meant for people.
- Drivers of trucks: keep a safe following distance on expressways, take a break every two hours, and slow down at night and in early-morning mist.
- Owners of slow or loaded vehicles: fit reflective tape and working rear lights, carry a triangle, and do not stop in a lane of an expressway.
- Bystanders: call 112 and 108, put on hazard lights well behind the crash, keep the road clear for ambulances and do not move an injured person unless there is fire or another danger.
- Authorities: run special festival buses and trains for workers, check overloaded trolleys at toll plazas and publish the cause and the truck owner action.
- Contractors and employers: arrange safe transport home for workers before festivals.
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