T’gana: 19 killed after lorry rams into bus, empties gravel into govt vehicle

Hyderabad: At least 19 people, including a 41-day-old girl child, were killed and 22 others injured when a gravel-laden tipper lorry collided head-on with a government bus in Ranga Reddy district of Telangana on Monday, officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the state government announced ex-gratia to the families of the victims.

Telangana Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, who visited the government hospital at Chevella, where the accident victims were admitted, said, “19 people were killed in the accident”.

The lorry collided with the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) vehicle near Chevella, about 50 kms from Hyderabad, on Monday morning at around 7 AM, resulting in the gravel falling on the bus, burying the passengers and causing deaths due to suffocation and trauma, among others.

A district official said 22 people suffered injuries in the accident.

The TGSRTC said in a release that the tipper, loaded with gravel and hard stone chips, lost control while overtaking multiple vehicles, veering directly into the path of the oncoming bus. The impact caused extensive damage to the bus, with a large volume of gravel and dust pouring into the passenger compartment.

This led to passengers being trapped, resulting in severe breathing difficulties, multiple injuries, and fatalities due to suffocation and trauma, it said.

The bodies of the 19 people who died in the accident have been shifted to Government Hospital, Chevella for post-mortem examination and identification, it said.

Based on the preliminary inquiry, there is no fault with both the condition of the TGSRTC bus, a hired vehicle and the driver of the bus. It had fitness and valid insurance certification.

“The accident took place because of overspeeding of the heavily loaded gravel tipper which fell onto the bus after its driver lost control of the vehicle in a typically accident prone spot,” the release said.

Cyberabad Police Commissioner Avinash Mohanty said the drivers of both vehicles died in the accident.

Noting that a head-on collision occurs when one of the vehicles is on the wrong side, he said the cause of the accident would be known after the inquiry.

With the gravel falling on the bus, several passengers got trapped inside the vehicle and officials carried out relief measures using earthmovers.

A case was booked against the tipper driver for negligent driving, a police official said.