Eight people were killed and 16 injured when a Delhi-bound bus rammed into a parked bus on the Purvanchal Expressway here on Monday, police said.

Superintendent of police Anurag Vats said a private double-decker bus from Bihar’s Muzaffarpur on its way to Delhi collided with another bus parked on the Purvanchal Expressway under the Lonikatra police station area around 4.45am on Monday.

Additional superintendent of police (ASP) Manoj Pandey said the accident took place near an eatery close to Narendrapur Madraha village.

The parked bus was on its way to Delhi from Sitamarhi in Bihar.

There were 36 passengers in the two double-decker buses and the police suspect the driver was sleepy at the time of the accident.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the incident and said the Uttar Pradesh government is providing all possible help to the victims.

“The accident on the Purvanchal Expressway in Barabanki is extremely saddening. I express my condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. Along with this, I wish speedy recovery to all injured. Under the supervision of the state government, the local administration is engaged in providing all possible help,” Modi was quoted as saying in a tweet by his office.

The police took the injured to a community health centre in Haidergarh, from where those seriously hurt were referred to a trauma centre in Lucknow.

Nine injured are now being treated at the Lucknow trauma centre and three at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital on the state capital.

Other passengers were sent to their destinations after administering first aid.

Helpline 9454417464 has been issued in connection with the incident, the superintendent of police said.

The dead have been identified as Siddh Narayan Jha, 75, of Phulparas, Shivdhari Sadam, 42, of Madhubani, Om Prakash Rai, 33, of Samastipur, Sapna Devi, 33, of Sitamarhi, Subodh, 24, of Madhubani, Kamlesh Kumar, 23, of Sitamarhi, Samsuddin, 17, of Madhubani, and Aditya Kumar, 12, of Sitamarhi.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, too, expressed grief over the loss of lives and directed officials to ensure adequate treatment of the injured.