At least 40 passengers were injured, some critically, after a private bus collided with a truck and plunged off a bridge on the Hyderabad-Bengaluru national highway (NH-44) in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district early Sunday, police said.
The accident occurred near Pogururu village in Pamidi mandal around 4 am when the Hyderabad–Bengaluru Volvo bus was crossing the Pogururu bridge.
“The bus rammed into an Eicher truck, and as a result, both vehicles fell off the bridge, leaving them severely damaged,” an officer from the Pamidi police station said, adding that many passengers were trapped inside the mangled bus.
“Around 10 passengers are in critical condition,” the police officer said.
Police said that the bus driver was among those seriously injured. “With the help of the excavator, we managed to extricate the bus driver after a prolonged operation,” the officer said.
The injured were initially shifted to the Pamidi government hospital. Those with serious injuries were later referred to the Government Hospital in Anantapur for advanced treatment.
The police cleared the wreckage and regulated traffic flow.
A case was registered under Section 125(A) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for causing injuries through rash and negligent driving. “Authorities have launched an investigation to ascertain the exact cause of the accident,” the officer said.
