NEW DELHI, Sept 11, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Forty-three people died in southern
India on Tuesday when a bus taking pilgrims from a temple plunged into a
valley, an official said, in the latest horrific crash on the country’s
roads.
“We have pulled out the bodies and we are taking them to the hospital for
autopsy,” B. Rajesham, a senior administrative official, told AFP.
Passengers who survived the accident in Jagtial district of Telangana
state were being treated for injuries. An investigation has been ordered.
The bus was returning from the famous Hindu temple of Kondagattu Anjaneya
Swamy when it skidded off the road, the Press Trust of India reported.
Television footage showed local residents carrying the injured up a hill
after pulling them out from the mangled bus.
NDTV quoted witnesses as saying the driver was speeding and lost control
of the vehicle.
Accidents on India’s notorious roads claim the lives of more than 150,000
people each year.
Most accidents are blamed on poor roads, badly-maintained vehicles and
reckless driving.
On July 28 a bus carrying university workers plunged off a mountain road
into a valley in western India, killing 33 people.
That vehicle was taking staff from the Dapoli Agriculture University to a
popular hill station in the state of Maharashtra for a picnic.
The same month 48 people were killed and many others badly injured in the
north of the country when an overcrowded bus hurtled into a gorge in the
Himalayan foothills.