Four persons were killed and eight others injured in a head-on collision between a truck and a minivan in Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati district in the early hours of Monday, April 25. The accident occurred on the Renigunta-Naidupeta highway in Srikalahasti when a group of 12 persons in a minivan was returning to their native village after visiting the Muthyalamma temple in Turpu Kanupuru village.
When the minivan reached Ardhanareeswara temple in Srikalahasti, it was hit by a speeding truck coming from the opposite direction. Three persons died on the spot while another succumbed while undergoing treatment in SVR Ruia Government General Hospital in Tirupati. Three of the deceased persons were identified as Arjunayya, Sarasamma, and Kavya. Police said the truck driver fled the spot after the accident.
Police rushed to the spot and launched a rescue and relief operation. Eight other passengers, including four children who suffered injuries, were initially admitted to Srikalahasti Area Hospital and later shifted to Ruia Hospital in Tirupati. The police cleared the traffic jam created by the collision on the highway. They registered a case and took up further investigation.
Recently on March 27, in another road accident near Tirupati, eight people were killed and over 40 people were injured. The victims were on their way to Tirupati when the private bus they were travelling in fell into a valley on the ghat road near Bhakarpet while negotiating a steep curve. The victims belonged to Anantapur district and were travelling from Dharmavaram to attend a wedding engagement. Seven of the victims died on the spot, while one more person died after being shifted to a hospital.
Earlier on February 6, nine people returning from a wedding were killed when a car in which they were travelling was hit by a truck in Anantapur district. The father of the bride was among those killed in the accident that occurred near Budagavi village of Urvakonda mandal. According to police, the victims were returning home from a wedding in Bellary, Karnataka. The accident occurred when a truck coming from the opposite direction rammed into the car on the Anantapuram-Bellary highway between Budagavi and Kottalapalli villages.
With IANS inputs