Andhra Pradesh: Four killed, 30 injured as APSRTC bus falls into valley on Paderu ghat road

VISAKHAPATNAM: Four people were killed and nearly 30 others suffered injuries when an APSRTC bus they were travelling fell into a 100 foot-deep valley on the Paderu ghat road in Alluri Sitaramaraju district on Sunday.

According to police, the APSRTC bus with around 60 passengers on board was travelling to Paderu from Chodavaram. At a viewpoint on the Paderu ghat road, the driver, while negotiating a tree branch, lost control of the steering wheel and the bus slipped into the valley. Locals who were passing by alerted the police and ambulance. A team of police personnel, along with revenue officials, rushed to the spot and began the rescue operations, the police said.

With the bus falling into a depth of 100 feet, it became tough for the locals and police officials to carry out the rescue operations quickly. The bus driver also sustained severe injuries in the mishap. After struggling a lot, the police and locals brought the injured people back on to the ghat road. All the injured persons were shifted in ambulances and on another RTC bus to Paderu Government Hospital for treatment. The toll may rise further as the condition of some of the injured was said to be critical, the police said.

Passengers who were injured in the mishap said that broken tree branches on the ghat road due to heavy rains and lack of a protection wall could be one of the reasons for the accident. Meanwhile, the police and revenue officials were facing a tough time summoning the additional support due to lack of mobile phone signals near the accident spot for carrying out the rescue operations. Further details of the mishap are awaited.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed shock over the bus accident at Paderu ghat road and expressed his condolences. He asked the district collectors and police officials of Alluri Sitaramaraju, Ankapalle and Visakhapatnam to provide better medical services to the injured persons and extend support to the deceased families. YS Jagan also asked the officials to focus on the reasons that led to the mishap.