9 killed as govt bus plunges into rivulet in Andhra Pradesh
Amaravati(PTI): Nine people, including the driver of an Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation bus, were killed as it fell into a rivulet near Jangareddygudem in West Godavari district on Wednesday.
At least 12 other passengers, who suffered injuries in the accident, were admitted to the area hospital in Jangareddygudem while another seriously injured was shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital in Eluru.
Conductor of the bus and several other passengers escaped with minor injuries, RTC and Revenue officials said.
In all, there were 45 passengers and two crew in the ill-fated bus.
Some of the passengers and the conductor crawled out of the bus windows even as the local people who rushed to the scene pulled them out to safety.
Some of the passengers sustained minor wounds as the window glass splinters struck them when the bus plunged into the rivulet.
West Godavari district Superintendent of Police Rahul Dev Sharma told PTI over phone from Eluru that the bus was on its way to Jangareddygudem from Aswaraopet in neighbouring Telangana when the mishap occurred.
The APSRTC bus driver tried to manoeuvre his way to avoid a lorry coming in the opposite direction on a bridge across the Jalleru rivulet.
The bus hit the bridge railing and fell into the rivulet. We have so far recovered nine bodies, including five female passengers and the driver Appa Rao, Rahul Dev said.
Meanwhile, the state government announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased.
Transport Minister Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani) said the government would take care of the medical expenses of the injured persons. APSRTC Managing Director Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao rushed to Jangareddygudem to supervise the rescue operations.
Biswa Bhusan Harichandan and Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed anguish over the bus mishap.
The Governor extended his condolences to the bereaved families.
The Chief Minister, too, offered his condolences to the bereaved families and directed West Godavari district Collector Kartikeya Misra to ensure better medicare to the injured passengers.
Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu, state Congress president Sake Sailajanath and BJP state general secretary S Vishnuvardhan Reddy too expressed grief over the accident.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
