Telangana accident: 57 killed as overcrowded bus plunges down Jagtial hillside; local residents decry condition of road

At least 57 people were killed and around 30 injured on Tuesday after an overcrowded state-run bus plunged down a hillside in Telangana’s Jagtial district. The police said this was one of the worst highway tragedies in the state. Over 90 people were travelling in the bus, though it had a capacity to accommodate only around 50, and were heading to Jagtial town when the accident occurred around 11 am, the police said. The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) bus skidded off a road near Shanivarapet village, about 200 kilometres from Hyderabad while returning from Anjaneya Swamy temple atop Kondagattu Hills. The driver is believed to have lost control of the vehicle at a speed breaker. However, the exact cause of the accident is under investigation, Jagtial Superintendent of Police Sindhu Sharma said. [caption id=“attachment_5161921” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The bus after it fell into the valley in Jagtial. ANI[/caption] Most of the victims — as many as 36 — were women, the police said, adding that the injured were taken to hospitals in Jagtial and the neighbouring Karimnagar district. The driver also died in the mishap, as did five children. Jagtial district collector A Sharat is supervising the relief and rescue work. Transport Minister Mahender Reddy also rushed to the accident site. Meanwhile, local residents voiced their anger against authorities over the poor condition of the road and accused the TSRTC of negligence. They were the first to reach the site and pull out the survivors and bodies from the mangled bus. After the incident, the  demand for the removal of the transport minister and TSRTC authorities was raised on social media.

Statutory warning : disturbing visuals. Over 25 killed in bus accident in Kondagattu near Jagtial inn#Telangana. pic.twitter.com/GFVTHAy9zt

— Sudhir (@Iamtssudhir) September 11, 2018

  In a tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the accident “is shocking beyond words”.

The bus accident in Telangana’s Jagtial district is shocking beyond words. Anguished by the loss of lives. My thoughts and solidarity with the bereaved families. I pray that the injured recover quickly.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 11, 2018

Telangana caretaker chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao also expressed shock over the accident and announced financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the family of each deceased. He also asked officials to provide immediate medical assistance to the injured, the Chief Minister’s Office said. Expressing grief over the loss of life in the mishap, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president N Uttam Kumar Reddy demanded financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh to the families of the deceased.