Hyderabad : An overcrowded state-run bus swerved off the road and hurtled down the hillside into a valley in Telangana’s Jagtial district Tuesday, killing 57 people and wounding around 30 others in one of the worst highway tragedies in the state, police said.
The deceased included 36 women and five children. Some of the victims were pilgrims returning to Jagtial from the temple town of Kondagattu after offering prayers at the famous Hanuman temple.
The accident involving the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) bus occurred on the ghat section of the road near Shanivarapet village, about 200 km from state capital Hyderabad.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the tragedy as “shocking beyond words”.
Jagtial Superintendent of Police Sindhu Sharma told PTI over phone “57 persons died in the accident. Around 30 others, who were injured, are undergoing treatment in different hospitals.”
Over 90 people were travelling in the bus and were proceeding to Jagtial town when the accident occurred around 11 am, police said.
The driver of the bus was among the deceased.
