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Andhra Pradesh: 7 killed, 18 injured as bus plunges into canal in Prakasam
The incident took place in Darsi around 1 am when a group of 45 people from a wedding party were going from Podili town in Prakasam district to Kakinada in East Godavari district
Seven people, including five women and a minor girl, were killed and 18 others sustained injuries after a state-run bus which they were travelling in fell into an irrigation canal in Andhra Pradesh’s Prakasam district in the wee hours of Tuesday, the police said.
The incident took place in Darsi around 1 am when a group of 45 people from a wedding party were going from Podili town in Prakasam district to Kakinada in East Godavari district to attend a reception.
The deceased were identified as Abdul Aziz (65), Abdul Hani (60), Sheik Rameeza (48), Mulla Noorjahan (58), Mulla Jani Begum (65), Sheik Sabeena (35), barring the minor.
Prakasam district superintendent of police Mallika Garg told HT that the group from Podili had hired an Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) bus to attend the wedding reception of one of their family members.
“As they were crossing the bridge over the Nagarjunasagar irrigation canal near Darsi, the bus swerved to the left to avoid collision with another private bus coming from the opposite direction. In the process, it hit a cement block lying on the side. The driver lost control of the vehicle and the bus crashed into the railing of the bridge before plunging into the canal,” she said.
Since the bus turned upside down while falling off into the canal, the passengers sitting at the back fell on those in the front, causing suffocation. “There was not much water in the canal... Seven people died on the spot due to suffocation when they were crushed under the others who fell on them,” the SP said.
There were two drivers in the bus and both of them broke the windows to bring the other passengers out. “One of them informed the Darsi police, who rushed there along with the fire department and SDRF personnel to speed up rescue operations,” Garg said.
The SP, along with Darsi DSP Ashok Vardhan and inspector Ramakotaiah, visited the spot to oversee the rescue and relief operations.
She said while 18 passengers sustained injuries, the rest were safe. “The injured were immediately rushed to the local government hospital at Darsi and five of them, who sustained serious fractures, were shifted to the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences in Ongole. They are stable,” the SP said.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the accident took place only when the RTC bus driver tried to prevent collision with the private bus coming at a high speed from the opposite direction. “The RTC bus was going at a normal speed, and the driver was neither dozing nor was he drunk,” Garg said.
“We have booked a case of accident and are on the lookout for the private bus,” she added.
