A 55-year-old man died after the taxi he was travelling in rammed into multiple vehicles amid dense fog on the Urban Extension Road-II (UER-II) near Dwarka in West Delhi early on Saturday, police said.
The deceased has been identified as Chhaju Singh, a resident of Channuwala village in Punjab. He was on his way to Indira Gandhi International Airport to drop his son, Amandeep Singh, when the accident occurred.
Chain collision amid poor visibility
According to police, a PCR call reporting a multi-vehicle collision was received at Baba Haridas Nagar police station in the early hours of Saturday. A police team rushed to the spot near Jharoda Kalan and found several vehicles involved in a chain collision on the airport-bound stretch of UER-II.
Preliminary inquiry revealed that the taxi, bearing a Punjab registration number and carrying five occupants including the driver, was the last vehicle to crash into the pile-up. Officers said the impact was severe, leaving Chhaju Singh critically injured.
Victim declared dead at hospital
Singh was immediately taken to Tarak Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. His son, who was travelling with him, survived the crash. The condition of other occupants of the taxi and those in the other vehicles was reported to be stable.
Police said dense fog and poor visibility are suspected to have played a significant role in the accident, a common hazard during winter mornings in the national capital region.
Investigation underway
All vehicles involved in the collision were later removed from the road to restore traffic flow. The police have initiated legal proceedings and a post-mortem examination of the deceased is being conducted to ascertain further details.
Authorities have once again urged motorists to exercise extreme caution during foggy conditions, maintain safe distances and avoid speeding, especially on high-speed corridors such as UER-II.