11 killed, 30 injured as Bhubaneswar-Hyderabad bus falls off a bridge in Andhra Pradesh

Highlights

• 11 passengers killed including a doctor from Odisha
• Bus fell into a river channel under the bridge in Krishna district

Vijayawada/Bhubaneswar: At least 11 passengers including a doctor from Odisha were killed and more than 30 injured when Hyderabad bound private bus from Bhubaneswar fell into a river channel under the bridge near Moolapadu village under Penuganchiprolu mandal in Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday.

While the bus driver and the helper among the eight passengers died on the spot, three succumbed to their injuries in a hospital at Nandigaon near Vijayawada. All the injured passengers were later shifted to a hospital in Vijayawada where the condition of 10 passengers was stated to be critical, reports said.

The incident happened at 5.30 AM in the morning, after bus driver, A Narayana Reddy, fell asleep behind the wheel and crashed the vehicle into a road divider following which the bus fell into a culvert under the bridge.

According to Deputy Transport Commissioner E Meera Prasad, the bus was at a speed of around 110 kmph at NH 16 and crashed against a 3-ft high wall before tumbling down 22-ft below the bridge. Transport minister Sidda Raghava Rao has ordered a probe into the accident.