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Speeding truck on wrong side, head-on collision with bus: What led to Telangana road accident that killed 19
The bus was carrying 70 passengers and was headed to Hyderabad when the truck from the opposite direction collided and fell on the bus.
Nineteen people, including 10 women and an infant, were killed, while several others were left injured, in a road accident in Telangana’s Ranga Reddy district on Monday when a speeding truck collided with a Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) bus.
The intensity of the collision was so powerful that many passengers died on the spot. “A road accident occurred between a TSRTC bus and a truck near Khanapur Gate, under the Chevella police station limits in Rangareddy district,” police said.
What led to the accident?
The speeding truck carrying gravel was reportedly on the wrong side of the road. The bus was carrying 70 passengers and was headed to Hyderabad when the truck from the opposite direction collided and fell on the bus, as mentioned in an earlier HT report.
Although the cause of the collision is still being investigated by authorities, initial investigations point to over-speeding and loss of control by the truck driver as possible factors.
Among the deceased were the drivers of both the bus and the truck, as well as a ten-month-old infant with its mother, police said. Eyewitnesses described the incident as heart-breaking, as passengers cried for help while locals rushed to their aid.
Notably, the injured victims were taken to a government hospital in Chevella, while the critically injured have been referred to hospitals in Hyderabad. Authorities have also warned that the death toll may increase, since many of the injured remain in critical condition.
Telangana CM reacts to Ranga Reddy accident
In a statement posted by his office, Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy expressed deep shock and ordered state chief secretary K Ramakrishna Rao and DGP B Shivadhar Reddy to ensure immediate rescue and relief measures. He urged ministers and other senior officials to reach the site of the accident and supervise all rescue operations.
The statement also said that the CM directed officials to “make arrangements to immediately transport the injured from the bus accident to Hyderabad and provide them with better medical treatment”.
