Five persons including two children and three women were killed and six others injured in a grisly road accident that occurred near Anantapalli on a bridge across the Yerra Kaluva rivulet in Nalljarla mandal of West Godavari district in the wee hours of Friday.
The accident occurred when a RTC bus from Rajahmundry on its way to Eluru collided with a cement-laden lorry which was coming in the opposite direction. Sources said the truck driver lost control after a tyre of the vehicle suffered a burst at high speed, and rammed headlong into the oncoming bus.
Five persons travelling in the bus were killed on the spot due to the impact of the mishap. Four persons from a single family hailing from Tuni were among the deceased. They were identified as Gelam Lakshmi (50), Kapusetty Jyothi (37), Satya Santoshi ((6) and Siva Sai (13). The other deceased passenger was identified as Palla Savithramma (60) reportedly hailing from neighbouring Odisha.
According to police, four out of six persons including bus conductor Pushpa Kumari who were injured in the accident were admitted to Tadepalligudem area hospital. Two others escaped without injuries. Peddireddi Bhavani escaped with minor injuries but lost four members of her family. The driver and the conductor of the bus also escaped with minor injuries. Around 19 persons were travelling in the bus at the time of the accident.