NIZAMABAD: Overspeeding and cramming passengers beyond capacity of the vehicle proved fatal for 10 persons when the auto-rickshaw they were travelling in fell in a 20-feet-deep roadside open well in Nizamabad district on Sunday.The 10 deceased include four kids, and the police suspect that two more passengers might have drowned. The rescue operations continued till late in the night.
The incident took place between Mupkal to Savel villages when the auto carrying nearly 16 persons veered off the road and went into the agriculture fields, falling into the open well. Local villagers rushed to the spot and started rescue operations well before the police and fire services personnel reached the spot.
Ten bodies, including six elders and four kids, were retrieved by the rescue teams. The deceased have been identified as B Raju, Sayamma (50), M Laxmi (38), Gangavva (41), Gangamani (45), P Sampath (14), Sumalath (30), M Vanisri (6), Manasivini (3), Roja (27).
Accident spots not identified by officials
Auto-rickshaws as well as TSRTC buses with passengers crammed inside is a common site on the stretch of road where the accident occurred. However, no one had noticed the open well, a villager of Mendora, said. This, apart from the auto-rickshaw moving at a high speed, are being cited as the reasons behind the fatal accident. Residents claimed that despite private vehicles being the main mode of transport in the areas including Armoor, Balkonda, Bheemgal, officials seemingly never identified the accidents spots on the stretch. One such spot was the open well.