Hyderabad: At least 20 people were killed and several were injured in Telangana’s Ranga Reddy district on Monday, November 3, after a tipper lorry carrying gravel collided head-on with a state Road Transport Corporation (RTC) bus. The incident took place near Chevella.
Initial reports suggested that the tipper was coming from the wrong direction and crashed into the bus, reported News 18. At the time of the incident, there were reportedly 72 passengers travelling in the bus.
"Around 20 people died, around 20 are getting treatment in the hospital, 3 are critically injured," Telangana Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar told ANI.
Among the deceased were 10 women and a three-month-old infant. After receiving the information, authorities rushed to the spot and launched a rescue and relief operation. The injured were shifted to nearby hospitals.
Earlier, Prabhakar had told the news agency that the government ordered an inquiry into the incident. ”It was a major accident in Chevella. The government has ordered an inquiry. 19 people have died, 14-15 are injured and they are under treatment. Government is taking care of them with respect to treatment,” Prabhakar said.
“Rs 5 Lakhs ex-gratia by the Govt and Rs 2 Lakhs by the RTC is being given to the deceased. Postmortem will be done here and bodies will be handed over to families...In the days to come, Govt will act more seriously to prevent accidents,” the Telangana minister had added.
The driver of the bus, travelling to Hyderabad from Tandur, was among the dead. According to a report by PTI, several passengers got trapped inside the bus as gravel fell on the bus.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy directed Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao and DGP Shivadhar Reddy to carry out relief measures on a war footing, an official release said.
“Chief Minister Sri A. Revanth Reddy is reviewing the situation with senior officials from time to time regarding the road accident that occurred near Meerjaguda in Chevella Mandal, Ranga Reddy District, and has directed the RTC MD, Transport Commissioner, and Fire DG to reach the accident site and oversee the relief measures personally,” Telangana Chief Minister’s Office said in a statement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed grief over the loss of life in the bus accident. The PMO announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased.
“The loss of lives due to a mishap in the Rangareddy district of Telangana is deeply saddening. My thoughts are with the affected people and their families during this difficult time. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000: PM @narendramodi,” the PMO said in an X post.
Former Telangana minister and BRS working president K T Rama Rao expressed condolences to the bereaved families.
