16 killed as van hits bus in Kurnool

Kurnool: At least 16 persons died in a ghastly road accident on the Hyderabad-Bangalore national highway near Veldurthy crossroads on Saturday.

All the deceased were residents of Ramapuram village in Vaddepalli mandal of Gadwal Jogulamba district in Telangana.

According to information, the deceased after hiring a Toofan transport vehicle had gone to Veldurthy for a marriage alliance on Saturday morning. After finalising the alliance, they were returning to their native village Ramapuram in Jogulamba district.

As the vehicle reached Veldurthy crossroads, a biker came on to the road from the service road and the van which was at high speed tried to save the biker and in the process it rammed into the Bangalore-bound SRS Travels bus. All those in the van died on the spot.

The biker also lost his life and the entire area presented a ghastly site.

On learning about the accident, Dhone DSP S Khader Basha, along with his team, rushed to the spot and shifted the injured to Kurnool General Hospital for treatment.

Vehicles were seen stranded up to a kilometre on both sides following the accident. The police took the driver of Volvo bus into custody. Case is under investigation.

Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana N Chandrababu Naidu and K Chandrasekhar Rao, respectively, expressed shock over the loss of lives in the accident.

They expressed grief and extended their condolences to the bereaved family members. Naidu ordered the District Collector S Satyanarayana to ensure quality treatment to the injured.

YSR Congress president YS Jaganmohan Reddy also expressed shock over the huge human loss and extended condolences to the bereaved family members.