VIJAYAWADA: Seven people were killed and four others sustained injuries in a road accident at Subbarayuni Dimma Junction in Koringa panchayat, Kakinada on Sunday. A private bus, which was reportedly over-speeding, collided head-on with an auto-rickshaw. Six women, all employees of a prawn unit in Seetharamapuram, died on the spot. Five others were injured and rushed to a hospital, where one of them died. The health condition of the other four is reported to be serious.
The deceased were identified as Sesetti Venkata Lakshmi (41), Karri Parvati (42), Naimmakayala Lakshmi (54), Chitapalli Jyoti (38), Kalli Padma (38), B Anantha Lakshmi (47), and Budapaneti Satyavati. Koringa sub-inspector Srinivas Kumar said the bus, operated by a private company, was heading towards Kakinada from Hyderabad after refuelling in Yanam. The auto with the women employees was heading towards Yanam when the accident happened, he added. The victims had boarded the auto after completing their duties just two minutes before the accident.
Stating that there were no passengers in the bus, the SI explained that the speed of the bus was so high that after the collision, the auto-rickshaw was dragged 10 feet forward on the bypass road. The auto was completely mangled and two of the victims’ bodies were stuck in the auto. Police rushed to the spot after receiving information, retrieved the bodies and shifted them to Kakinada Government General Hospital for postmortem. Locals at the accident spot handed over the bus driver to the police after he tried to flee.
A case has been registered and further investigation is underway.
Guv Nazeer expresses grief
Expressing grief over the accident, Governor S Abdul Nazeer directed the district administration to provide necessary medical care to those who were injured in the incident. The Governor offered his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family members.