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4 women farm labourers killed in horrific road crash in Telangana’s Warangal
A seven-seater auto rickshaw which was overloaded with 19 people including the driver, collided with a van at a crossroad.
Four women farm labourers were killed and six were seriously injured when an overloaded auto rickshaw in which they were travelling collided with a van coming from the opposite direction in Telangana’s Warangal (Rural) district on Friday morning, the police said.
The accident took place at Neerukulla village of Atmakur block on Hyderabad-Bhupalapatnam national highway (NH-163) at around 7.30 am. The seven-seater auto rickshaw was overloaded with 19 people including the driver.
“The labourers from Atmakuru block headquarters, were travelling to the Rangapuram village of Duggondi block to harvest red chilli crop,” Atmakur police head constable Venugopal Reddy said.
As the auto rickshaw was approaching Neerukulla village crossroads, a van coming from opposition direction at a high speed rammed into it, killing three women on the spot.
“The impact of the collision was so intense that the auto rickshaw was badly mangled and the bodies of the deceased were completely mutilated,” the policeman said.
On receiving the information from the locals, the police rushed to the spot and took up the rescue operations.
“Seven others including the driver, who sustained injuries in the accident, were immediately shifted to Mahatma Gandhi Memorial government hospital for treatment. One of the injured died while undergoing treatment,” Venugopal Reddy said.
The deceased were identified as Madishetti Sambalakshmi (65), Palakurti Sarojana (55), Md Mehboobi (50) and Bharati (55).
The van was found abandoned at the accident site. It is not known how many people were in the van.
State minister for panchayat and rural development Errabelli Dayakar Rao, who also hails from Warangal district, spoke to the police authorities to enquire about the incident. He expressed shock at the death of four women labourers in the accident and asked the district authorities to extend the best possible treatment to the injured.
“We shall extend suitable ex gratia to the families of the deceased. I request the people to follow the rules of the road and avoid over-speeding to prevent such ghastly accidents,” the minister said.
Another minister Satyavathi Rathod also expressed shock over the accident and conveyed her condolences to the bereaved families.
