Lucknow: The toll in Saturday night's road accident in Uttar Pradesh's Budaun district rose to 36 on Sunday as two more people succumbed to their injuries, while the number of injured went up to 18, officials said.
A mini-truck packed with 54 people returning from a funeral procession overturned and was hit by a bus Saturday night near Vitroi village on the Barielly-Etah highway in Budaun, about 250 km from here.
The victims were returning to their home in Ujhani town in the neighbouring district after the funeral of a businessman Mohan Lal.
"There were 54 people packed in the truck when the bus crashed into the vehicle from behind late Saturday," Budaun District Magistrate Amit Gupta told IANS over phone.
Thirty-four people, including the bus driver, were killed on the spot while two succumbed to their injuries in hospital, he said.
"The bus driver was killed in the accident but all the other bus passengers were safe," Gupta said.
A huge sand mound, formed due to digging work along the road, could have caused the accident, officials said.
"Preliminary investigations have revealed that on noticing the sand mound in the middle of the road, the truck driver had to suddenly apply brakes, following which the bus crashed into the vehicle from behind," Gupta said.
He said the 18 injured were hospitalised, of whom two were stated to be serious.