At least 45 people are feared dead and several others are injured as a bus met with an accident near Kondagattu in Telangana. Police said that the state-owned bus fell into a gorge in Telangana’s Jagtial district on Tuesday.
The injured were rushed to the hospital and the critically injured people were shifted to hospitals in Karimnagar and Hyderabad. 45 pilgrims, including 25 women and 7 children died as the ill fated bus fell into valley in Telangana. The bodies of the deceased are shifted to Jagtial Area Hospital for postmortem.
More than three dozen passengers died on the spot. Bodies of seven children and twenty five women were recovered. Realising the gravity of the matter, villagers immediately went to rescue the injured. Jagitial collector Sharath and superintendent of police Sindhu Sharma rushed to the spot along with police forces.
A senior government official was quoted as saying by The News Minute that the bus was overloaded and carrying at least 50 passengers, which is far beyond its capacity. According to the report, the incident took place at around 11.30 am on Tuesday.
It is speculated that the main cause of the accident was brake failure in the bus. The report also stated that the bus was carrying pilgrims who were returning after a visit to a famous temple in Jagtial.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao directed civic officials to provide immediate medical assistance to those injured. A press statement to this effect was released by the Telangana government.
More details are awaited.
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