At least eight passengers were killed and several others injured when the tourist bus they were travelling by fell into a gorge in the forest area of Andhra Pradesh’s East Godavari district on Tuesday, the police said.
The bus was travelling from Maredumilli, a tourist spot located at about 40 km from Rajahmundry, to Chinturu, a tribal area on the borders of Chhattisgarh.
“The incident happened at Valmiki Konda while negotiating a turn on the ghat road at around noon. The driver apparently lost control over the steering, as a result of which the bus fell into the deep gorge,” the Maredumilli police said.
The exact cause of the accident, whether it is due to over-speeding or failure of brakes was yet to be ascertained, the police said.
There were about 20-25 passengers on board the tourist bus. While five of them died on the spot, three others succumbed to injuries while being shifted to the hospital. The condition of a few others is said to be critical.
The locals told the police that the ghat road between Maredumilli and Chintoor was narrow and bumpy and was badly damaged due to recent heavy rains. “It was still raining in the day and the visibility was poor in the area due to dense forest,” a local resident said.
Senior police officials rushed to the spot and are overseeing the rescue operations with the help of local tribals.
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