Ten days after the horrific Kurnool bus fire mishap that claimed 19 lives, Telangana woke up to the news of yet another grisly accident that, in a bizarre coincidence, claimed 19 lives on Monday at around 6:15 AM near Indirareddy Nagar on the Chevella Road, when a speeding tipper truck carrying gravel violently slammed head-on into a TGSRTC bus traveling from Tandur to Hyderabad. At least 22 other passengers of the bus were injured, including those who were buried completely or partially in loads of gravel that overshot from the tipper into the mangled bus due to the impact of the mishap.

The collision was reportedly caused by reckless overtaking and dangerous driving by the tipper.

The ill-fated bus, bearing registration TS 34 TA 6354 and driven by 37-year-old Dastagiri, was carrying 72 passengers, including three sisters of the same family, housewives, and daily commuters. The tipper, driven by Kamle Akash from Maharashtra, was found to be speeding after overtaking multiple vehicles before veering into the bus's lane, resulting in the ghastly impact. The drivers of both the vehicles, apart from 17 passengers, died on the spot.

The gravity of the collision was such that half the bus was filled with gravel, trapping passengers inside. The authorities deployed heavy earth-moving equipment to extricate passengers and clear the wreckage of the ill-fated bus. Eyewitnesses at the chaotic scene described passengers trapped amid loads of gravel, with screams filling the air as they struggled to get help.

The rescue teams immediately began performing CPR and moving the critically wounded to the Vikarabad Government Hospital and PMR Hospitals, where the medical staff continued the emergency treatment. Chevella Inspector Sridhar sustained minor injuries during the rescue operation after an excavator ran over his leg, a police official said.

A doctor at the government hospital in Chevella said the accident victims suffered fractures, facial, abdominal and leg injuries. The injured passengers are undergoing treatment, including administration of IV fluid and TT injections, while some have been referred to major state-run hospitals in Hyderabad.

Recalling the horrific incident, a survivor said he was dozing in the bus when a loud thud jolted him awake, leaving him half-buried in gravel. “Several people were buried under the gravel. The tipper lorry came from the opposite direction. I was seated on the left side of the bus. We managed to climb out, but those who were sitting behind the driver couldn't make it — some of them died. I was seated three rows behind the conductor,” he said. He further said he opened a window and escaped, with six others following. Later, another person broke the windowpanes to free more passengers.

The confirmed names of the deceased are: Dasyam Nagamani, 55, from Karnataka; Tara Bai, 45, housewife from Vikarabad; Thabussam Jahan, 38 from Tandur; Gurrala Akhila, 22, student from Laxminagarpur Village; Panugula Kalpana, 45, from – Nallagandla- Hyderabad; Hanmanthu, 35 from Doulthabad, Gogula Gunamma, 60, from Hyderabad, Shaik Khalid Hussain, 76, from Tandur; Taliya Begum from Tandur; a 10-month-old baby girl; Nandini, 18, student from Tandur; Sai Priya, MBA student from Tandur; Thanusha, degree final year student from Tandur; Muskan from Tandur; and Kudugunta Bandappa, 42, from Vikarabad, aside from the drivers of the two vehicles. Most of the passengers were from Tandur.

Cyberabad Police Commissioner Avinash Mahanti confirmed that the bus driver Dastagiri (37) and the tipper driver Kamle Akash died in the crash. Noting that a head-on collision occurs when one of the vehicles is on the wrong side, he said the cause of the accident would be known after the inquiry.

The bus conductor, Radha, sustained injuries

Commissioner Mahanti highlighted that technical issues on the road due to ongoing construction work may have contributed to the accident. The bodies of the deceased have been dispatched to their respective native places after postmortem.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the tipper's dangerous overtaking manoeuvers at high speed primarily caused the collision. The accident site remains sealed off as forensic teams are gathering evidence and the authorities are working to identify any lapses in traffic management.s