HUBBALLI: A tragic accident occurred on Friday on the Chittoor-Bengaluru main road near Mogili ghat in Bangarupalyam mandal, Palamaneru constituency, resulting in seven deaths and 31 injuries. An APSRTC bus en route from Tirupati collided head-on with a truck traveling from Palamaneru. The force of the impact caused the bus to then strike another truck. Six individuals, including the bus driver and helper, were killed instantly.
The injured were initially taken to Palamaneru Area Hospital, with 25 reported in stable condition. The critically injured were later transferred to a hospital in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, for advanced treatment.
The deceased include S Vijayamma (53) from Pakala mandal, Tirupati, Hansika Yadav (6) from Maharaj Ganj, Maharashtra, Balaraju from Siddipeta, Telangana, Sonu Kumar (31) from Baliya, Uttar Pradesh, as well as the bus driver Tirupathi and truck driver S Manoharan (56) from Chamanthipuram.
Chittoor District Collector Sumit Kumar and Superintendent of Police Manikanta Chandolu promptly arrived at the scene to oversee the rescue operations. In response to the tragedy, Sumit announced that the State government will provide an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh to the families of each deceased.