Though the passenger capacity of the ill-fated Palle Velugu bus was 59, it had 100 on board Did overcrowding of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) bus lead to the ghastly accident which claimed 57 persons on the ghat road of the Kondagattu temple shrine in Kodimial mandal of Jagtial district on Tuesday? While the investigation is on regarding the cause of the accident, TSRTC officials told The Hindu that while the passenger capacity of the ill-fated Palle Velugu bus is 59, 100 people were on board. The Jagtial depot bus was travelling from Shanivarampeta to Jagtial and started its journey at around 10.45 a.m. Traversing Himmathrapeta and Ramsagar villages, it reached Kondagattu temple to let more passengers on board as there was heavy pilgrim rush on Tuesday, a day considered auspicious at the shrine. Also Read RTC loses best driver The bus would have reached Jagtial by covering Muthyampet village and Mallial crossroads. Though authorities have banned plying of TSRTC buses on the ghat road, the transport juggernaut is said to be operating the bus on the route to cash in on the demand. Even after boarding of the passengers, the bus would have reached safely to Jagtial had it travelled via Dongalamarri village. But, the already overloaded bus, traversed through the ghat road in an attempt to cut distance by 10 km., and plunged into the gorge at around 11.45 a.m. Due to the impact, passengers were crushed to death and several others sustained serious injuries. Many passengers died of suffocation as they fell on each other. Locals rushed to the spot and rescued the injured passengers and shifted them to hospitals. Also Read Took the bus, only to meet his death The villagers said the bus was travelling at a high speed on the ghat road. They said it jumped over a speed-breaker, hit a side of an autorickshaw and later, in order to avoid hitting a car, lost control after climbing over another speed-breaker and plunged into the gorge crossing over the safety barricades. It nose-dived and caused the instant death of 26 persons, including its driver, Srinivas. While several succumbed to injuries, others are undergoing treatment in various hospitals in Karimnagar and Jagtial towns. WARANGAL, TELANGANA,11/09/2018: In a major tragedy, as many as 51 persons died after an TSRTC bus plunged into a 30 feet gorge on the Kondagattu Ghat road in Jagtial district on Tuesday afternoon -- .PHOTO: M_MURALI | Photo Credit: M_MURALI Fitness test While sources claimed the bus was outdated, unfit to be put into service, and that its brakes failed, TSRTC officials maintained that it was put through a fitness test on August 9. An official requesting anonymity said: We do a fitness test every month or quarter. The bus was commissioned in 2007. It clocked approximately 14.5 lakh km. The official said that buses will not ply on the route till further instructions. A probe has been ordered and the depot manager has been suspended. Touching upon speculation that the bus’ suspension was faulty, the official said, “The bus is still at the spot. We will get to know the cause of the accident once the inquiry is completed.” Conductor in a state of shock Officials said they are waiting for the conductor to recover from a state of shock. “We are sure the conductor can give us a good idea of what happened. He is safe and recovering,” an official said.<doc-sep>The state-run bus returning from Kondagattu fell into a valley in Telangana's Jagitial district (Photo: ANI) The death toll in Tuesday's ghastly bus accident in Telangana rose to 57 even as the state government suspended an official of the state road transport corporation and ordered an inquiry. As many as 43 people were also injured in the accident that occurred when an overcrowded state-run bus fell into a gorge in Telangana's Jagtial district. The Telangana State Road Transport Corp (TSRTC) bus carrying 100 passengers fell off Kondagattu Ghat road while returning from Anjaneya Swamy temple atop Kondagattu Hills, about 190 km from Hyderabad. Overload and brake failure is suspected to be the cause of accident. Transport Minister Mahender Reddy has ordered a probe into the tragedy. Read | Congress invites TDP to join dharma yuddha against TRS in Telangana The dead include 30 women and four children, officials said. The injured are undergoing treatment in hospitals at Jagtial, Karimnagar and Hyderabad. The toll could further go up as the condition of some of the injured is stated to be critical. The dead include driver B. Srinivas who apparently lost control when the bus approached a speed breaker. Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao expressed shock over the accident. He has announced Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia each for the families of the dead. TSRTC announced Rs. 3 lakh ex-gratia each. The Transport Minister, who visited the accident site, also announced suspension of Jagtial TSRTC Depot Manager Hanumantha Rao. Jagtial Superintendent of Police Sindhu Sharma said the accident occurred around 11 a.m when the bus was coming down from the hill and was to join the highway. The victims belonged to Jagtial and Peddapalli districts. Heart rending scenes were witnessed at the accident site as some of the injured lay amid bodies crying for help. Wailing relatives of the victims crowded Jagtial Hospital, where the medical staff struggled to deal with the large number of casualties. Meanwhile, locals have voiced their anger against the authorities over poor condition of the road and the alleged negligence of TSRTC. Also read | Congress, TDP, Left leaders meet Telangana Governor, demand President's rule<doc-sep>Telangana SRTC bus was overcrowded Four children were among 57 persons killed on Tuesday when an overcrowded Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) bus plunged into a gorge while on its way from the Kondagattu temple in Jagtial district on Tuesday. Forty-three persons were seriously injured in the accident. At least 43 persons, including the bus driver Srinivas, died on the spot; other victims succumbed to injuries at the Jagtial area hospital and the Karimnagar district headquarters hospital. The bus, belonging to the Jagtial depot, had more than 100 passengers, who reportedly came to the hillock temple at Kondagattu. It was going from Shanivarampeta village to Jagtial via the Kondagattu ghat road and Muthyampet villages when the accident happened. Eyewitness accounts said the bus was overcrowded. Driver loses control of vehicle at curve Initial reports said the bus driver lost control of the vehicle at the third sharp curve, resulting in the bus plunging into the gorge. Most of the passengers lost balance and fell on the right side of the bus leading to the accident. Many due to suffocation as they fell on one another. Some four-wheelers following the bus stopped and launched a rescue operation with the help of the locals. The severely injured were rushed to the Jagtial hospital. Jagtial Collector A. Sharath, SP Sindhu Sharma and Karimnagar Police Commissioner Kamalhasan Reddy, and other officials reached the spot and shifted the injured to the Jagtial hospital. The bodies have been shifted to the hospital pending post mortem. K.Chandrashekhar Rao expresses shock Chief Minister K.Chandrashekhar Rao expressed shock over the road accident. In a message, he expressed his condolences to the families of those killed. He directed the officials concerned to provide immediate medical assistance to the injured. He announced ₹5 lakh as ex-gratia for the family members of the deceased. Minister for Finance and Civil Supplies Etala Rajender expressed shock and grief over the accident and instructed the officials to take all measures to provide proper medicare. Nizamabad MP Kavitha also expressed grief over the accident. In separate statements, Congress Legislature Party leader K. Jana Reddy, TPCC chief N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and YSRCP president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy also expressed shock at the loss of lives.<doc-sep>The bus accident in Telangana’s Jagtial district is shocking beyond words. Anguished by the loss of lives. My thoug… https://t.co/H0wmehOAHU — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 1536666106000 Pained by the loss of precious lives due to a bus accident at Kondagattu ghat road in Jagtial district of Telangana… https://t.co/6wLCBGP80q — Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) 1536666636000 I’m sorry to hear about the death of over 40 pilgrims in a road accident in Jagtial, Telangana. Congress party work… https://t.co/D22nPNPTek — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) 1536667873000 No words to describe the horrific accident. Deeply anguished and my heartfelt sympathy to the families of the deceased — KTR (@KTRTRS) 1536658948000 Kondagattu accident: Several killed as bus falls into gorge in Telangana HYDERABAD: In probably the worst-ever bus accident in the country, 57 people, including 39 women and four children, were killed and 31 injured, six of them critically, after an overcrowded Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) bus swerved off a ghat road and hurtled 30ft down onto a valley at Sanivarampet village in Jagtial district on Tuesday. The driver of the bus is among those dead.The ill-fated bus belonging to the Jagtial depot was jam-packed with 87 passengers. It was returning to Jagtial from Kondagattu, the hill shrine of Sri Anjaneya Swamy. The mishap occurred when bus driver Srinivas lost control over the wheel near Sanivarampet. Srinivas, who had received a commendation certificate from TSRTC on Independence Day this year for the meritorious service, had taken the ghat road to save just 2km distance.Srinivas reportedly failed to slow down the vehicle as he failed to see a speed-breaker. When the bus hit the bump at speed, Srinivas lost control over the wheel, resulting in the mishap. The vehicle turned turtle four times before falling onto the valley. It is believed that most of the passengers died due to suffocation as they fell over one another. Jagtial depot manager Hanumantha Rao has been suspended following the accident.Home Minister Rajnath Singh has also expressed condolences.Congress president Rahul Gandhi has expressed deep shock over the incident.Telangana minister and CM KCR's son KT Rama Rao has also expressed grief over the incident.The state government was quick to announce an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased. The TSRTC also announced compensation of Rs 3 lakh each to the kin of the dead. Those injured would be provided free medical treatment.Municipal and IT minister KT Rama Rao, who rushed to the spot, supervised rescue and relief operations by district officials. The critically injured were shifted to Hyderabad and Karimnagar for better treatment. Bodies were retrieved from the valley and shifted to the Jagtial government hospital for identification and postmortem. The police have so far identified 45 of the deceased.President Ramnath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao, AP chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, YSRCP president YS Jaganmohan Reddy and several other leaders expressed grief over the fatal accident.Modi described the tragedy as ‘shocking beyond words’. “The bus accident in Telangana’s Jagtial district is shocking beyond words. Anguished by the loss of lives. My thoughts and solidarity with the bereaved families. I pray that the injured recover quickly,” the PM tweeted. Some of the passengers were returning from the hill shrine, which they visited on Tuesday.<doc-sep>
Driver took ghat road to reduce drive by 2km HYDERABAD: In the worst bus accident in India, 57 people were killed and 31 others injured, six of them critically, after an overcrowded Telangana State Road Transport Corporation bus swerved off a ghat road and hurtled 30ft down into a valley at Sanivarampet village of Kondagattu mandal in Jagtial district on Tuesday. Among the dead were 39 women, four children and the bus driver.The ill-fated bus belonging to Jagtial depot was jam-packed with 87 passengers. It was returning to Jagtial from Kondagattu, the hill shrine of Lord Hanuman. The mishap occurred when the driver, Srinivas, lost control of the bus—he reportedly failed to slow down as he did not notice a speedbreaker.The driver Srinivas, who had received a TSRTC commendation certificate for meritorious service on Independence Day, had taken the ghat road to reduce the distance by 2km.Jagtial depot manager Hanumantha Rao has been suspended following the accident.Srinivas reportedly failed to slow down the vehicle as he could not notice a speedbreaker on the road. When the bus hit the bump at a certain speed, Srinivas lost control over the wheel, resulting in the mishap. The vehicle overturned four times on the road before falling onto the valley. It is believed that most of the passengers died due to suffocation as they fell over one another.The state government was quick to announce an ex gratia of ?5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased. The TSRTC also announced compensation of ?3 lakh each to the kin of the dead. Those injured would be provided free medical treatment.Municipal and IT minister KT Rama Rao, who rushed to the spot, supervised rescue and relief operations by district officials.The critically injured were shifted to Hyderabad and Karimnagar for better treatment.Bodies were retrieved from the valley and shifted to Jagtial government hospital for identification and postmortem examination. The police have so far identified 45 of the deceased. Most of the dead were women above 40.President Ramnath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi , Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, AP chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, YSRCP president YS Jaganmohan Reddy and several other leaders expressed grief over the fatal accident.Modi described the tragedy as ‘shocking beyond words’. “The bus accident in Telangana’s Jagtial district is shocking beyond words. Anguished by the loss of lives. My thoughts and solidarity with the bereaved families. I pray that the injured recover quickly,” Modi tweeted.