Tragedies strike four wedding parties, 11 die

Celebrations and happy moments turned into tragedies at four places in the State on Thursday when marriage parties met with accidents. A total of 11 people were killed and several others were injured.

In the first accident that claimed five lives, including that of the bride, in Khammam district, the vehicle that brought the marriage party proved to be its nemesis. A lorry that transported the wedding guests to Ramannagudam in Ashwarraopet mandal from Sunnapuraipally village in T Narsapur mandal of West Godavari district, reached the village around 2am on Thursday.

As the lorry developed some mechanical trouble, it stopped on the roadside. The marriage party members got down from the vehicle and started walking down. The lorry driver, Yadama Rama Rao, who happened to be the father of the bride Yadama Lata, asked his family members to push the vehicle to kick-start it.

The vehicle did start, but brakes failed, resulting in the lorry sliding and running over the wedding party members who were walking in front of it. The victims included the bride Lata, her elder sister Gunju Kumari, nephew Siva (12), aunt Durgamma and a relative Giribabu. While Lata, Kumari, Siva and Durgamma were killed on the spot, Giribabu succumbed to his injuries in a hospital. Four others were injured in the mishap.

In the second accident, three people travelling in a Sumo from Toopran, in Medak district, were killed after the vehicle collided with a lorry near Sangeetha Thanda in Turkapally mandal. Three others were injured. They were undergoing treatment in a hospital in Hyderabad. The mishap took place when the marriage team was going to the bridegroom's house in Bhongir.

The marriage was scheduled to take place at 11 am. The bridal party had come to Toopran at around 4 am to bring the groom. The Sumo driver is said to have lost control and crashed into the lorry coming in the opposite direction. The cause of the accident was attributed to the driver not getting enough rest, having taken part in a marriage reception the previous night.

In the third accident, two members of a marriage party were killed and nine were injured near Narasannapalem village in Koyyalagudem mandal of West Godavari district when the tractor carrying them overturned. The condition of one injured undergoing treatment in a nearby hospital was serious.

In the fourth one, also involving a marriage party, one person died and 15 others, including the bridegroom, were injured at Dodagatta in D Harehally mandal of Anantapur district, when an auto rickshaw carrying them hit a tractor. The victim, Ramesh (28), was the groom's nephew. The injured were shifted to the Rayadurg Government Hospital.