NIZAMABAD: Four people and eight parrots died after a private travel bus overturned near Gannaram village under the jurisdiction of Indalwai Police Station on National Highway-44 in Nizamabad district early on Friday.
The accident, involving a private travel bus occurred at around 2.10 am near Gannaram under the jurisdiction of Indalwai Police Station on National Highway 44. The bus was travelling from Hyderabad to Akola with 22 passengers on board.
According to Indalwai Police Sub-Inspector S Sandeep, the driver attempted to overtake another vehicle at high speed, hit a caution board and the bus overturned onto the left side of the road while most passengers were asleep.
Three people died at the scene, while another succumbed to injuries during treatment at the Government General Hospital (GGH). The deceased were identified as Manjusha (30) and her son Rishi (8), Ramu (25) from Maharashtra and Abbas (55) from Bengaluru. The remaining passengers were admitted to GGH and Manorama Hospital for treatment.
The injured were shifted to the Government General Hospital (GGH) and Manorama Hospital for treatment. Doctors said that two of the injured are in critical condition.
Police said the bodies were handed over to family members after postmortem.
Meanwhile, officials later found that more than 60 parrots were being transported in the bus. Deputy Commissioner of the Road Transport Department Durga Prameela and District Road Transport Officer (RTO) J Uma Maheshwar Rao inspected the vehicle and heard sounds coming from a box covered with sarees placed above the driver’s cabin.
When the box was opened, several parrots flew out. Officials said eight parrots were found dead and four were injured. The injured birds were given water and shifted to the toll plaza at Indalwai, where a veterinary doctor was contacted for treatment. Officials said it may take time for the parrots to fly towards nearby forest areas.
Uma Maheshwar Rao said details about the parrots could not be gathered from the passengers as none of them was in a position to provide information.