At least seven people died and several others were injured after a truck in which they were travelling, fell off a valley in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district on Saturday night.
The incident took place near Kuppam, the constituency of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, when a group of people were reported to be travelling with the truck load of mangoes and heading towards Tamil Nadu.
The accident took place as the driver lost control while negotiating a turn on the ghat road.
While seven bodies were recovered from the valley, rescue operations were hit as the truck reportedly landed in a thick forest between Nayanur and Peddavanka villages. Mangled bodies were found crushed under the remains of the truck.
Chief Minister Naidu, who was in Delhi during the time of the accident, called the Chittoor District Collector and enquired about the rescue and relief measures.
Officials soon reached the spot and coordinated with other departments in the rescue mission.
In April last year, Andhra Pradesh Transport Minister K Atchannaidu said that the state government would wage a “war against road accidents.”
The minister made this statement while chairing a review meeting with Home Minister N Chinarajappa, Director General of Police, Home Secretary, Transport Commissioner, and others.
In the same address, Home Minister N Chinarajappa said that more than 3,000 people are killed in road accidents every year in the state and roughly 30,000 people suffer injuries.
The statement came just days after 15 people were killed, and several more injured, when a lorry ran amok in Andhra's Chittoor district.
The incident occurred on April 21 last year when several people were crushed by the lorry, and many others were injured after an electric pole fell on them at the accident site.
Most of the victims were staging a protest before the Yerpedu police station, demanding action against illegal sand mining in their native villages when the accident occurred.