At least 18 people were killed and 40 others were injured when a bus carrying them fell into a deep ditch in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday.
The accident occurred on Madikasira-Penkonda road of Anantapur when the bus was passing through a narrow section of the road in a hilly area. Eyewitnesses told the police that the driver tried to avoid a three-wheeler coming from the opposite direction and lost control and the bus fell into the 80 feet deep ravine. 11 people died on the spot and others succumbed to injuries in different hospitals.
The injured were rushed to hospitals at Hindupur, Anantapur, Penukonda and Bengaluru. The AP State Road Transport corporation bus was going from Penukonda to Madikesira. Prime Minister Narendar Modi and AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed deep shock over the accident and expressed their sympathies for the grieved families. Naidu also ordered the district superintendent of police to conduct a thorough probe in to the accident.
Apart from the fact that the hilly road had a deep gorge on one side, the other half of the road was closed because of some repair work. Survivors said that the negligence by the driver was also another reason for the accident. State Government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs5 lakh for the kin of every deceased passenger. The families were also given Rs10,000 each as an immediate financial help for the funerals. State Home Minister N Chinna Rajappa, several other Ministers and MlAs also rushed to the scene of the accident.
The bus was carrying about 60 passengers, most of them were students. As the news of the accident spread, thousands of people from nearby areas gathered at the accident place. Authorities made arrangements for the postmortem of the bodies at the accident place and later handed over the bodies to the respective families.
A heavy crane was also pressed in to service to take the bus out of the ditch.