Hyderabad, Nov 3 (IANS) The Telangana government ordered a magisterial inquiry into Monday’s bus-truck collision in Rangareddy district that claimed 19 lives and announced an ex gratia of Rs 7 lakh each for the families of the deceased.

Minister for Industry and Information Technology D. Sridharbabu, who is in charge minister for Rangareddy district, said the transport department has also ordered a departmental inquiry into the accident that occurred around 6.30 a.m. on the Hyderabad-Bijapur highway near Mirzaguda in Chevella mandal, about 60 km from Hyderabad.

He told media persons at Chevella that 19 people were killed and 24 were injured in the accident that occurred when a tipper truck laden with gravel rammed into the Road Transport Corporation bus coming from the opposite direction.

The bus with 72 people on board was coming to Hyderabad from Tandur.

He said a higher number of fatalities were because of the gravel falling on the passengers as a result of the collision.

Initially, the death toll was reported as 20, but the government clarified that 19 people died. They include 10 women and a 10-month-old baby.

Drivers of both the TGSRTC bus and truck were killed in the head-on collision.

According to eye-witnesses, passengers sitting on the first six rows were crushed and buried under the gravel as the tipper lorry pierced through the bus.

They said the tipper was travelling at high speed, overtaking several vehicles, and suddenly steered to the right, colliding head-on with the RTC bus coming from the opposite direction.

The tipper, being laden with gravel, caused heavy damage and casualties

A woman from Karnataka is among the deceased, while truck driver Akash Kamle was from Maharashtra.

Sridhar Babu, who was accompanied by Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, said Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) and the state government together have declared Rs 7 lakh ex gratia each for the families of the deceased.

The state government announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh each, while TGSRTC declared an additional Rs 2 lakh.

The injured will be given a compensation of Rs 2 lakh, and the government will take care of their entire treatment.

Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha also called on the injured at PMR Hospital. He said, barring one person who sustained a head injury, all others have simple injuries.

While 10 of the injured were admitted to the government hospital at Vikarabad, 14 were admitted to Patnam Mahender Reddy (PMR) Hospital. Some of the injured were later shifted to Hyderabad.

Meanwhile, on a complaint by bus conductor Radha, who survived the accident, police registered a case against the tipper driver under section 106 (1) of The Bharat Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Bus driver Dastagir Baba (35) was also killed in the accident.

Earlier, heart-wrenching scenes were witnessed as several injured trapped in the gravel and wreckage were crying for help.

Police and other rescue personnel had a tough time pulling out the injured. Three JCBs were pressed into service to cut through the bus to retrieve the bodies and rescue the injured.

One of the survivors said the bus started from Tandu at 5 a.m. and was full to its capacity by the time it reached Vikarabad. Several passengers were standing.

The survivor said a speeding tipper truck coming from the opposite direction rammed into the bus. The driver and the passengers sitting in six rows behind him were crushed to death.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy expressed grief over the road accident.

The Chief Minister directed the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police to ensure that all those injured in the bus accident are immediately shifted to Hyderabad and provided with the best possible medical treatment.

This is the second major road accident in the Telugu states in less than 10 days.

Twenty people were burnt to death when a private bus caught fire after running over a motorbike lying on the road after an accident near Kurnool town of Andhra Pradesh on October 24.

The bus belonging to a private tour operator was on its way to Bengaluru from Hyderabad

–IANS

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