Forensic experts who travelled from Hyderabad said almost all the victims died of severe head injuries and physical trauma.
Hyderabad: Tears, cries and anguish filled the Chevella Community Health Centre (CHC) on Monday as grieving families waited for a miracle that never came. Nineteen people, including a 40-day-old infant, lost their lives in a horrific road accident near Mirjaguda of Chevella mandal in Rangareddy district when a gravel-laden tipper truck rammed into an overcrowded TSRTC bus.
Of the 19 deceased, 13 were women, seated in the area located behind the driver’s cabin. Most passengers were returning to Hyderabad after the weekend to resume work or studies.
All the bodies were shifted to the Chevella CHC, about eight km from the accident site. A team of 11 forensic doctors from Osmania General Hospital and three from Gandhi Hospital were deployed at the CHC to conduct post-mortems.
By 9 am, families of the deceased began arriving at the centre, their wails of grief echoing through the corridors. Many collapsed in shock upon identifying their loved ones wrapped in white shrouds and being prepared for transport in hearse vans.
Prasad, husband of Venkatamma, broke down at the hospital. “She was going to Hyderabad for work. I dropped her at the Tandur depot and went home. Why did it have to be this way,” he said. “I prayed to all the Gods, hoping she would be safe. Her phone was switched off, but I still hoped. When I saw her name here, I collapsed.”
Mehbub, the cousin of TSRTC driver Dastagiri Baba who died in the accident, tried to console Baba’s wife. “We are both RTC drivers. He drove the morning shift, I the afternoon. He was an ace driver,” Mehbub said. “Last year at Anantagiri (near Vikarabad, his bus brakes failed, but he skilfully stopped it and avoided an accident. This time, it was clearly the tipper’s fault. The bus was travelling in the specified lane.”
Forensic experts who travelled from Hyderabad said almost all the victims died of severe head injuries and physical trauma. “Nearly all had head injuries, along with multiple injuries to the chest and back. Head trauma was the primary cause of death in most cases,” said a forensic doctor.
More than 20 passengers suffered serious injuries and were admitted to hospitals in Chevella, Vikarabad and Hyderabad. Ten injured passengers were treated at the Vikarabad Hospital, most with head injuries and one with a rib fracture.
Fourteen others were taken to Dr Patnam Mahender Reddy Hospital in Chevella, of whom nine suffered head and facial injuries. Several passengers suffered leg and ankle fractures but were declared stable. Head constable Venkatesh, who also suffered a head injury, was kept under observation after a CT scan returned normal.
One of the injured, R. Nandini, was later shifted to Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad for advanced treatment.
List of Deceased:
1. Kalpana, 42, Borabanda
2. Gunamma, 60, Borabanda
3. Tharif Bhai, 44, Dhannaram thanda, Vikarabad
4. Gurrala Akhila, 22, Yalal, Vikarabad
5. Nagamani, 54, Kalburagi (Gulbarga), Karnataka
6. Magalla Hanumanthu, 44, Doultabad, Vikarabad
7. Md. Khalid, 43, Tandur, Vikarabad
8. Thabassum Jhahan, 38, Tandur
9. Dastagiri Baba, 43, Bashirabad, Vikarabad (TSRTC bus driver)
10. Ediga Nandhini, 22, Tandur
11. Ediga Thanusha, 20, Tandur
12. Ediga Sai Priya, 18, Tandur
13. Kistapur Venkatamma, 21, Tandur
14. Laxmi, 40, Yalal, Vikarabad
15. Seleha, 20, Tandur
16. Baby Zahira, 40 days, Tandur (Seleha’s niece)
17. K. Bandappa, 42, Yalal, Vikarabad
18. Muskan Begum, age not known, Tandur
19. Aakash Kamble, 24, Sangareddy (Tipper driver)
