ONGOLE (Andhra Pradesh): The passengers of a private bus had a narrow escape Tuesday morning when the bus hit a road divider and stopped on the edge of the bridge over the Gundlakamma river at Vellampalli of Andhra Pradesh's Prakasam district.
The bus belonging to VV Vinayak Travels was going to Kandukur in Prakasam district from Hyderabad. At around 5:45 a.m., as the bus approached the bridge, the driver noticed that the road had been barricaded for maintenance. He applied the brakes just 30 ft short of the barricade.
As the bus was traveling at high speed, it skidded out of control. It brushed a road divider and hit the parapet wall of the bridge and stopping on the edge of the bridge.
Police said had the driver noticed the barricade a few seconds later, the vehicle would have fallen into the river.
The front portion of the bus was badly damaged and six passengers suffered minor injuries.
Police blamed overspeeding and driver fatigue for the accident. A case has been registered.
In February, 11 people were killed and 30 injured when an overspeeding hit a road divider and fell into a culvert near Vijayawada.