Telangana bus accident: Conductor side passengers survived, driver side killed, recalls survivor
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Hyderabad (PTI): Most passengers seated behind the bus driver were killed, while those behind the conductor survived the deadly accident in Telangana that claimed 19 lives, one of the survivors said on Monday.
Recalling the horrific incident, the survivor said he was dozing in the bus when a loud thud jolted him awake, leaving him half-buried in gravel.
“Several people were buried under the gravel. The tipper lorry came from the opposite direction. I was seated on the left side of the bus. We managed to climb out, but those who were sitting behind the driver couldn’t make it, some of them died. I was seated three rows behind the conductor,” he told the media.
He further said he opened a window and escaped, with six others following. Later, another person broke the window panes to free more passengers.
The accident erased entire generations and shattered many families.
According to Sheikh Amer, his friend’s wife Saleha Begum (19), her father Sheikh Khalid Hussain (50) and her 41-day-old baby girl, Zahera Fathima, all perished.
The family was returning to Hyderabad to celebrate the baby's birth after showing the newborn to relatives in Tandur.
“Saleha was returning to the city after showing her newborn to relatives in Tandur. None of us imagined that joy would turn to grief so suddenly,” Sheikh Amer told PTI videos.
Saleha’s husband, Waheed Hussain, who drives a truck for a living, was away on duty when the tragedy struck.
Khalid Hussain was the sole breadwinner of the family, he said and urged the government to lend a helping hand to the bereaved family.
Similarly, tragedy struck a family of Tandur town in Ranga Reddy district in Telangana as it lost three daughters in the accident.
Nandini, Saipriya and Tanusha were killed in the accident, leaving the family distraught.
The trio were studying in college in Hyderabad.
Ambika, mother of the girls, wept inconsolably at the government hospital at Chevella, where the bodies were taken following the accident.
“These three daughters are going to Hyderabad. They are studying there.they wanted to yesterday itself. but they did not go. They should have gone yesterday itself,” Ambika, mother of children- one son and four daughters told PTI Videos.
A teenage survivor, Ashok, who suffered minor injuries, recounted the horrifying scene of his father's death.
Ashok and his father, Hanumantha (45), boarded the bus at Kodangal to travel to a hospital in Hyderabad for his ear problem.
"My father was sitting next to me. After the tipper hit the bus. Several people fell on my father and also huge quantities of gravel."
Ashok was later saved after some people broke open the window.
A doctor at the government hospital in Chevella said the accident victims suffered fractures, facial, abdominal and leg injuries.
The injured persons were undergoing treatment, including administration of IV fluid, TT injections and referred to major state-run hospitals in Hyderabad.
According to TV visuals, half the bus was filled with gravel, trapping passengers inside.
The authorities deployed heavy earth-moving equipment to clear the wreckage of the ill-fated bus.
Chevella Inspector Sridhar sustained minor injuries during a rescue operation after an excavator ran over his leg, a police official said.
A senior official of the Transport Department said the tipper has the capacity to carry 35 tons of material. However, they are verifying if it was overloaded.
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
