KURNOOL/GUNTUR: Nine people were killed and five others critically injured in an accident at Somayajulapalle in Orvakal Mandal of Kurnool district on Sunday morning.
According to police, the 3-wheeler was moving in the wrong direction along Kurnool-Nandyal national highway when the Hyderabad-bound APSRTC bus rammed into it. The cops added that the auto driver seemed to have dozed off at the wheel.
Seven of the 14 people in the vehicle died on the spot and two succumbed to injuries at Kurnool Government Hospital. The condition of the others, including the driver, is critical.
The deceased were identified as Kallapari sarpanch S Gowramma (60), G Erramma (57), B Govindamma (65), N Mareppa (68), his wife N Lakshmi Devi (65) and H Manikyamma (46) — all natives of Kallapari village in Kodumur mandal, Boya Somakka (70) from Ramallakota in Veldurthi mandal, Boya Hussainamma (65) and Boya Lakshmi Devi (68) from Chanugondla in Gudur mandal of the district.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed grief on hearing of the incident and directed the district Collector and the Superintendent of Police to assist the victims and their kin.
Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation chairman Varla Ramaiah has announced a compensation of Rs 3 lakh to the families of each of the deceased. He visited the injured at the hospital along with RM P Chandrasekhar, Kurnool traffic DSP CM Gangaiah and Kurnool RDO D Hussain Saheb.
2 killed in Guntur
Two people died in an accident at Dechavaram of Nakarikallu mandal in Guntur district. The jeep in which they were travelling rammed into a tree and flipped over, killing two on the spot.