TIRUPATI: Eleven persons, including eight members of the same family, were killed in a ghastly road mishap at Mogili Ghat in Bangarupalyam Mandal of Chittoor district on Friday evening when a container truck rammed a divider and crashed on a Maruti van and a two-wheeler.
According to Palamaner police, the truck, going towards Chittoor from Bengaluru, hit the road divider when the driver reportedly lost control. It flipped over the road divider and fell on the Maruti van and two-wheeler.
On being alerted, police rushed to the spot, and after two hours of efforts, retrieved 11 bodies from the wreckage. The identity of nine victims was established.
A family of eight from Marrimakulapalle village in Gangavaram Mandal, which went to Tellagundlapalle village in Chittoor Mandal to console their bereaved relatives, was returning home in the Maruti van when the accident took place.
The eight victims were identified as Ramachandra (50), Ramu (38), Savitramma (40), Prameela (37), Guramma (52), Subramanyam (49), Sekhar (45), and Papamma (49). Another victim, who was riding the bike was identified as Narendra (37) of Balijapalle in Palamaner Mandal. Cleaner of the truck, who suffered grievous injuries, was shifted to the government hospital for treatment along with two others.
District Collector Narayana Bharat Gupta along with police officials rushed to the spot to supervise the rescue operations. The accident on the highway brought the traffic to a halt for a few hours. Police registered a case.