Tirupati: A devastating road accident in the early hours of Friday near Gottipura Gate in Karnataka’s Hoskote taluk has claimed the lives of four people, including two young children and a college student.

The collision, involving an Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) bus and a truck, left 16 others injured, eight of them critically.

The bus, operated by the Chittoor depot of APSRTC, was en route from Tirupati to Bengaluru when the accident occurred around 3 am on the Kolar-Hoskote National Highway.

According to initial investigations, the mishap happened during an attempt to overtake a truck at high speed, resulting in the bus ramming into the heavy vehicle. Most passengers were reportedly asleep when the crash occurred, leading to chaos and delays in rescue operations.

The deceased have been identified as Keshava Reddy (44), Tulasi (21), a BTech student, and two children — Pranathi (4) and Maria (1) — all from Gangadhara Nellore in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district. Two other residents of the same area remain in critical condition and are currently being treated at hospitals in Bengaluru.

Traffic on the busy highway came to a halt for over four hours following the accident. Emergency responders and police teams swiftly reached the site, transporting the injured to nearby hospitals and moving the bodies to the Hoskote government hospital for post-mortem. A formal investigation is underway, with a case registered to ascertain the exact cause of the incident.

Several leaders expressed their condolences on the fateful accident. Transport Minister Mandipalli Ramprasad Reddy and former Deputy Chief Minister K Narayana Swamy offered support to the grieving families. Chittoor District Collector Sumit Kumar has directed officials to make arrangements for transporting the bodies back to Gangadhara Nellore.

Chittoor MP Daggumalla Prasad Rao expressed deep anguish, stating that the tragic news had left him shocked. He extended heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and emphasised the sorrow of losing members from the GD Nellore constituency. He called the incident a grave tragedy and assured that both the government and the TDP would stand firmly with the affected families during this difficult time.