At least 19 people were killed and four others suffered injuries when a tipper lorry carrying gravel collided head-on with a public transport bus in Ranga Reddy district of Telangana on Monday, police said.
The tipper collided with the Telangana Road Transport Corporation (RTC) vehicle near Chevella on Monday morning, resulting in the gravel falling on the bus.
The 19 deceased, included 10 women, a police official told PTI. The driver of the bus, travelling to Hyderabad from Tandur, was among the dead.
The total of passengers travelling in the bus could not be ascertained immediately, he said. The injured persons were in trauma and they could not provide information on the number of passengers in the bus.
With the gravel falling on the bus, several passengers got stuck inside the vehicle and officials carried out relief measures using earthmovers. The passengers of the bus were brought out of it, the police official added.
Expressing anguish over the accident, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy directed Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao and DGP Shivadhar Reddy to carry out relief measures on a war footing, an official release said.
The CM also asked some ministers to rush to the accident site, it said. He told the officials to rush the injured passengers to Hyderabad to provide advanced treatment.