Tirupati: The toll in the accident that took place at Peddavanka on the Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh border near Kuppam 150 km from here, rose to nine, the police said today.
The incident took place last night when a speeding lorry laden with mangoes and carrying about 30 farm workers, rolled down into a gorge at Peddavanka forest near Kuppam after the driver lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a curve.
The dead include three women and two boys aged 14 and 16 years, the police said. The lorry was on its way to Vaniyambadi in Tamil Nadu from Kuppam. Seven people died on the spot, while two of the injured undergoing treatment in a hospital in Tamil Nadu succumbed to injuries today, the police told PTI, adding that all of them belonged to villages in and around Vellore in Tamil Nadu. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed grief over the death of the workers and also directed Chittoor district police officials to rush to the spot.
The officials, after taking part in rescue operations, also visited the injured in hospitals. Meanwhile, the others who were injured in the mishap were being treated in different hospitals at Vellore and Vaniyambadi in Tamil Nadu, they said. The lorry driver, who jumped out after losing control of the vehicle, has been arrested, the police said.
