30 killed in Maharashtra bus accident
Thirty people from Andhra Pradesh on their way to Shirdi were killed when the private bus they were travelling in fell into a valley near Naldurg of Osmanabad in Maharashtra in the wee hours of Saturday.According to information reaching Hyderabad, twenty-one passengers have been injured. They were shifted to hospitals in Sholapur and Osmanabad. The death toll may go up as the condition of some the injured are critical.The bus belonging to Sree Kaleshwari travel agency started from Hyderabad on Friday night. The accident occurred near Murta village, a few kilometers after Naldurg, around 2 a.m.Some of the victims are reportedly from Tata Consultancy Services company. Confusion about the condition of the passengers prevailed at the travel agency office at Lakdikapool in Hyderabad as its staff could not give any details to the anxious relatives.Relatives of the passengers rushed to the agency office making inquiries. The bodies have been shifted to Jalpa government hospital to conduct autopsy.The accident spot was about 260 kilometres from Hyderabad. The State government has sent three officials to Osmanabad to coordinate with the local officials there for medical treatment of the injured and rescue operations.Ambulances are being sent to shift the bodies to Hyderabad after post-mortem. The Maharashtra government has set up two help-lines for enquiries: 02472 222900, 02472 222700.Sree Kaleshwari travel agency is arranging a bus from its office at Lakdikapool in Hyderabad to the accident spot.The agency executives said relatives of the passengers can board the bus to reach the accident spot. “The bus would go till Sholapur so that the relatives can attend on the injured passengers undergoing treatment at Sholapur hospital,” they said.The Osmanabad police said identity of the victims who died in the accident was not yet known. “As the injured are shifted to other hospitals, there is no way we could confirm the victims’ identity. We are awaiting arrival of the victims’ relatives,” they said.
