Three students from India killed in road accident in Massachusetts
New York (PTI): In a tragic incident, three students from India died in a road accident after the car they were travelling in collided with another vehicle in western Massachusetts.
Prem Kumar Reddy Goda, 27, Pavani Gullapally 22 and Sai Narasimha Patamsetti 22, died on scene of the collision, Berkshire District Attorney's Office said in a statement on Thursday.
Massachusetts state and local police are investigating the two-vehicle motor vehicle collision that killed the three students and hospitalised five other people.
At approximately 5:30 am, a northbound car and a southbound vehicle collided. Four other occupants in the car 23-year-old Manoj Reddy Donda, 22-year-old Sridhar Reddy Chinthakunta, 23-year-old Vijith Reddy Gummala, and 22-year-old Hima Ishwarya Siddireddy, were transported to Berkshire Medical Center for treatment.
Law enforcement authorities identified the occupants of the car as international college students, six studying at the University of New Haven and one at Sacred Heart University.
The driver and sole occupant of the other vehicle, 46-year-old Armando Bautista-Cruz, was transported to Fairview Medical Center for treatment.
The State Police Detective Unit notified family members and/or designees of the decedents and the Consulate General of India, New York.
The Sheffield Police Department and the State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Berkshire District Attorney's Office are investigating the circumstances of the collision and request that anyone with information to contact authorities.
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IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
