Andhra Pradesh: Nine killed, 26 injured in West Godavari bus accident

Nine passengers including five women were killed and 26 others were injured when an APSRTC bus fell from a bridge into Jalleru rivulet near Vegavaram village in Jangareddygudem mandal of West Godavari district on Wednesday.

The APSRTC’s Pallevelugu bus belonging to Jangareddygudem depot was proceeding to Jangareddygudem from the temple town of Bhadrachalam with 47 passengers when the mishap occurred. The driver of the bus, S Chinna Rao, too died in the accident and the conductor, GR Sekhar, survived.
Police said the driver lost control over the wheel when the bus reached Jalleru rivulet bridge between Vegavaram and Taduvai villages. The bus steered to extreme left and fell into the rivuler from the bridge. The bus first hit the protective railing on the bridge before falling down.
Eight passengers and the driver died on the spot. The conductor sustained hand fracture. The injured passengers were admitted to the area hospital in Jangareddygydem. As the bus hit the railing on the bridge, some passengers jumped off the bus and saved themselves.

Survivors, locals and the police broke open the glass windows of the bus and rescued a few passengers. The rescue teams fished out nine bodies from the rivulet. The police team led by West Godavari SP, Rahul Dev Sarma, took part in the rescue operation.
West Godavari district collector Kartikeya Misra reviewed the rescue operation at the accident site. Kartikeya Misra told TOI that the RTC bus was coming from Valierupadu side to Jangareddygudem. The accident occurred at about 12.10 pm. When the bus reached the bridge on the Jalleru rivulet, the driver lost the control all of sudden and the bus fell into the rivulet.
He said that the bus tumbled and the front part of the bus plunged into the rivulet. He said nine people including the driver died and 26 passengers sustained injuries. The collector said 24 passengers were admitted to the area hospital. Two passengers, who sustained fractures, were admitted to Eluru government hospital.
Eight of those killed hailed from West Godavari district whereas one passenger belonged to East Godavari district. The dead have been identified as Podapati Durgamma (55), Adamilli Moses (52), Sriramula Balamma (45), Ketha Vara Lakshmi, Undrajavarapu Sarojini (56), Bodugu satyavati (56), Ch Chenna Rao (46), driver, A Madhu Babu (57), and Sangeetha Soma Raju. CM announced 5 lakh each as ex-gratia to kin of the dead.