At Least Nine Dead, 23 Injured As Bus Overturns On Alluri Sitaramarajud Ghat Road

• Nine people died and 23 injured as a bus overturned in Alluri Sitaramarajud district.

• Accident occurred around 4:30 am on Chintoor-Maredumilli ghat road near a Durga temple.

• Passengers were travelling from Chittoor to Bhadrachalam; four injured are critical.

At least nine people were killed and 23 others injured when a bus overturned on a ghat road in Alluri Sitaramarajud district in the early hours of Friday, police said.

The bus, which was travelling from Chittoor to neighbouring Telangana, was carrying 37 people, including the driver and cleaner. Six passengers managed to escape unharmed, reported PTI.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Amit Bardar told PTI that the accident occurred around 4:30 am on the Chintoor-Maredumilli ghat road, near a Durga temple.

"At least nine people died and 22 were injured as the bus fell off the ghat road. The bus did not fully plunge into the valley. It turned turtle... and got stuck," Bardar said, adding that four of the injured are in critical condition.

The officer said preliminary investigations suggest that the driver may not have noticed a curve in the road, located in the Mothugudem police station area, due to heavy fog.

According to PTI, the passengers were on their way to the Sri Rama temple in Bhadrachalam, Telangana, from Chittoor.

(With inputs from PTI)