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19 Dead in Chevella Road Accident

Hyderabad: Nineteen people, including a 10-month-old infant in her relative’s arms, as well as three sisters, were killed when a truck rammed into an overcrowded TGRTC bus at Mirjaguda, about 46 km from the state capital, on the Vijayapura (Bijapur) road early Monday morning, and poured tonnes of gravel on the passengers. More than 20 others travelling in the bus were injured, two of them in a critical condition.

Reports said the speeding lorry had swerved to avoid a pothole on the two-lane highway, whose widening was delayed by a case with regard to the chopping of trees. The bus had been hired by the RTC.

The mishap sheared off the right side of the bus, and killed both drivers, Dastagiri Baba with the RTC and lorry driver Aakash Kamble, 24, at the wheel of the lorry. Most of the victims were seated behind the driver’s cabin, The bus was carrying nearly 70 passengers against its capacity of 50, most of them heading towards the state capital at the beginning of the work week.

Rescue operations were complicated by the bus’s crushed metal frame. Authorities cut open the chassis to pull out people using handheld tools. Rescuers dug through the mounds of gravel to rescue those trapped beneath. Earthmovers were called in to move the bus and clear the stones. Among the haunting pictures of the tragedy was one of a woman buried till her chest in the gravel.

The bus at started at about 5 pm from Tandur, and the accident occurred about 6 km from Chevella on its way towards Hyderabad. Within minutes, ambulances, police, and disaster relief teams reached the site, and shifted the injured to three different hospitals.

Initial investigation blamed the mishap and the large toll on a large pothole on the narrow, poorly-lit, two-lane road, the high speed of the lorry and overcrowding in the bus. The road at the accident spot was stated to be narrow for two heavy vehicles to pass comfortably; one vehicle would have to give way to the other.

The women bus conductor, Radha, who was also one among the injured, said that there were around 70 people in the bus and most of the people who sat behind the driver were dead. The number of people who died as a result of the impact and those who were buried under the gravel was being ascertained.

After the accident, officials and ministers rushed to the spot. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy instructed the collector, MLAs, and transport minister Ponnam Prabhakar to visit the accident site to oversee relief measures. He conveyed his condolences to the families of the deceased.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex gratia of `2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF). Revanth Reddy ordered a probe into the accident and announced `5 lakh ex gratia for the deceased.

Three generations of a family perished in the accident. According to Sheikh Amer, his friend's wife Saleha Begum, 19, her father Sheikh Khalid Hussain, 50, and 41-day-old Zahira Fathima, died in the collision.

Yellaiah Goud and his wife Ambika of Tandur lost their three daughters — degree college students Tanusha and Saipriya and Nandini who was looking for a job. “I told my wife not to call the children for the wedding. However, she called them without my knowledge,” Goud said. The family had celebrated the wedding of their elder daughter on October 17.

A child, who was travelling to Hyderabad for a doctor’s appointment with his parents, lost his parents buried under the gravel, while he was rescued by others by breaking glass.

One of the survivors, who did not get a seat in the bus, said that he heard a sudden sound and it was similar to a bomb blast. “Suddenly I saw my hand bleeding and gravel around me. I immediately jumped out of the bus,” said Narsimulu, another survivor. Some people were sleeping when the accident occurred,” he added.