An altercation between Osmania Medical College students and the driver of a private bus who was allegedly drunk led to the gory accident resulting in the death of four medicos and the bus driver in a road accident on late Monday night.
Twenty-one other students suffered injuries and were admitted to a private hospital at Gollapudi and in Government General Hospital (GGH). The condition of two students, Sangaraboina Rajesh Kumar of Warangal and Kandula Sujith Reddy of Kadapa, who suffered critical injuries is stated to be critical.
The deceased have been identified as – G. Lakshman of Tandur, Pranay, a native of Saroornagar, Hyderabad, Uday of Karimnagar district and M. Vijay Teja, native of Qutubullapur of Telangana State.
The driver of the bus was identified as one V. Shiva Shankar.
According to the students, the first year medical students of OMC, were returning after attending a sports meet at Amalapuram town in East Godavari district. They engaged Dhanunjaya Travels bus for the tour, and about 46 students were travelling in the ill-fated bus.
The students said that the accident was a result of an alternation between the students and the driver. The bus driver who was afraid of being handed over to the police was driving the bus at a speed over 120 kmph. The students tried to stop the bus driver from driving so fast. In the melee the driver swerved the vehicle suddenly to the left and the accident happened.
The mishap occurred in the midnight when the bus hit a roadside tree and overturned at a high speed near Surampalem village on Vijayawada outskirts. The locals helped the students in shifting the victims to the nearby private hospital.
Students alleged that the bus driver was in drunken condition and they pleaded with the travels management to change the driver. However, the management did not consider the request which caused the ghastly mishap, they alleged.
On knowing about the accident, officials of OMC, parents and from other departments rushed to Vijayawada. About ten students are undergoing treatment in Intensive Care Unit (ICU), said the Vijayawada City Police.
Home Minister Nimmakayala Chinarajappa and Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas on Tuesday inquired about the incident and directed the hospital authorities to provide better treatment.
