TIRUPATI: As many as 100 police, fire services, Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force and TTD Vigilance wing personnel along with locals took up a rescue operation on Saturday night to shift the injured persons of the ill-fated bus in Tirupati to Ruia, SVIMS and BIRRD hospitals for treatment.
Nine persons were killed - eight on the spot and one in hospital - and 45 others were injured when a private bus with 52 passengers and two crew members, fell into a gorge while negotiating a sharp curve on the Bhakarapeta ghat road near Chandragiri late on Saturday.
The bus was heading to Tiruchanoor from Dharmavaram in Anantapur, with an engagement party. One of the injured, Malishetty Venu (28) was to get engaged on Sunday morning. Venu’s parents Malishetty Vengappa (60) and Malishetty Nagalakshmi (60) did not survive the accident.
Police identified the other deceased persons as Malishetty Murali (45), Malishetty Ganesh (40), Malishetty Kanthamma (40), Adi Narayana Reddy (45), J Yesaswini (8), bus driver Nabhi Rasool and attendant Shakeel.
Tirupati Urban SP Ch Venkata Appala Naidu said the rescue operation began at 10.15 pm. "We grabbed blankets, towels, shirts and whatever was available in the passengers' bags to shift the injured up from the gorge to the road," he said.
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The SP said as soon they received information about the accident, they rushed to the scene with ropes, water bottles and flashlights. Stating that the golden hour is crucial to save a person, the SP said they elders and those with head injuries, were shifted first to a hospital for immediate treatment. "The police personnel made makeshift stretchers (doli) to move the passengers who had sustained fractures and grievous injuries," Appala Naidu said.
The injured were first shifted to hospitals in the first three hours. The bodies were later extricated and sent to mortuaries. The SP added that the rescue operation was tough as the terrain was slippery and filled with rubble.
On the possible cause of the accident, the officer said the driver might had been unaware of the sharp curves on the ghat section at Bhakarapet, considered to be a dangerous spot for those who drive there for the first time. "Or maybe the bus was not fit to be driven on the ghat road," the SP added.
The passengers, on the other hand, said the bus had been speeding and the driver ignored their repeated warnings. "We had warned the driver to go slow as it was dark. But the driver ignored us. He might not have noticed a vehicle coming from the opposite direction, causing the accident," Venu said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu condoled the deaths. Jagan announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the bereaved families and Rs 50,000 for those injured. PM Modi also announced compensation from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.