11 killed, 32 injured as private bus falls off from culvert

Vijayawada: In a ghastly road accident, 11 people were killed and 32 passengers were injured, some of them seriously, when the private travel bus, in which they were travelling, fell down from a culvert at Nandigama town, about 40 kms from here in the wee hours of today. Police said nine persons were killed on the spot, two others-- one succumbed while being treated at Nandigama government hospital and another when being shifted to a private hospital in Vijayawada.

As many as 32 injured passengers were shifted to Nandigama hospital and of them, 22 were referred to various hospitals here as they had suffered fractures and head injuries. The bus fell down from a 20 feet high bridge on Hyderabad-Vijayawada express highway and struck between the two culverts.

The officials extricated the passengers from the ill-fated bus after few hours by using gas cutters. The bus belongs Diwakar travels, was on its way to Hyderabad from Bhubaneswar. The injured passengers told media that the bus was going at a high speed when the accident occurred. The driver of the bus might have dozed which led to the ghastly accident, police said. Six of the deceased were identified as Prabhakar Reddy, Krishna Reddy, Rizvan, Pasha, P Tulasi and Aadinarayana Reddy (driver of the ill-fated bus).

Meanwhile, Andhra Prades Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed grief and shock over the incident. He directed the officials to provide best medical treatment to the injured and make arrangements to take the bodies to their native places. State Transport Minister Sidda Raghava Rao ordered an inquiry into the accident. (UNI)