Eight killed as Andhra state transport bus plunges into stream in West Godavari
Eight people were killed in an accident after a state transport bus fell off a bridge into a stream in West Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh on December 15, Wednesday. An Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) bus going from Aswaraopeta in Telangana to Jangareddygudem fell into the Jalleru stream while crossing a bridge. The deceased passengers include six women and two men, including the driver of the bus.
West Godavari district Superintendent of Police Rahul Dev Sharma told PTI over the phone from Eluru that there were about 35 passengers in the bus that was on its way to Jangareddygudem from Aswaraopet in Telangana’s Bhadradri Kothagudem district when the mishap occurred. The APSRTC bus driver tried to manoeuvre his way to avoid a lorry coming from the opposite direction on a bridge across the Jalleru rivulet, according to PTI.
The bus hit the bridge railing and fell into the rivulet. Local residents and the police rushed to the spot and were carrying out a rescue operation when reports last came in.
♦పశ్చిమ గోదావరి జిల్లా జంగారెడ్డిగూడెం మండలం జల్లేరులో ఘోర రోడ్డు ప్రమాదం జరిగింది.
— DD News Andhra (అధికారిక ఖాతా) (@DDNewsAndhra) December 15, 2021
♦ఆర్టీసీ బస్సు వంతెన పైనుంచి వాగులో పడింది. ఈ ఘటనలో ఎనిమిది మంది మృతి చెందారు. మరో ఆరుగురికి గాయాలయ్యాయి. pic.twitter.com/QDQXhdh89e
While a few injured passengers were moved to a local hospital for treatment, police said that the remaining passengers were out of danger. A police official of Jangareddygudem said the exact reason for the accident is not known yet, and that the driver might have lost control while crossing the bridge and driven off the guardrails.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh for the families of each of the victims who lost their lives in the accident.
In another similar tragic accident that recently happened in Nellore district, an auto carrying a family of 12 fell into the Beeraperu stream which flows into the Penna river while passing a bridge on December 9. The auto was hit by a truck coming from the opposite direction and fell off the bridge. While seven members of the family were rescued immediately by pulling them out of the stream with ropes, one of them, a 14-year-old girl named Nagavalli, eventually succumbed while being treated at a hospital. The auto-rickshaw was pulled out of the stream with the help of a crane.
With PTI inputs