TIRUPATI: Fourteen people died and four others were injured in a traffic accident reported along National Highway 44 near the village of Madar Puram in Veldurthi Mandal of Kurnool district early Sunday morning.
Local police said a group of pilgrims from the Madanapalle region of Chittoor district was heading to Ajmer in Rajasthan.
The van the pilgrims were traveling in ran off the road and collided with a truck on the other side of the road between 3 and 3:30 a.m. Sunday.
Fourteen people, including eight women, five men and a child, died at the scene and four others, including two children, suffered serious injuries.
Local police, who rushed to the scene after learning of the road accident, transferred the injured passengers to the Government General Hospital in Kurnool and their condition is said to be critical according to hospital doctors.
Police had to tie down with bulldozers to eliminate disputes from the minivan, as the bodies were completely mangled and stuck inside the vehicle.
According to the police, the driver of the minivan must have fallen asleep or the vehicle’s tire may have broken, which could have caused the mishap.
Traffic along the national highway came to a complete halt after the mishap, as the police took a long time to remove the crashed vehicles in the dark.
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