Five persons died on the spot and three others were seriously injured in a ghastly collision between a jeep and a truck near Yerpedu on the Tirupati-Srikalahasti highway on Sunday. The condition of one of the injured, all rushed to the Government-SVRR General Hospital, Tirupati, is stated to be critical.
According to the Yerpedu police, all the deceased, said to be employees of a Chennai-based software company, Sify Technology, were on their way to Srikalahasti for darshan after completing their pilgrimage to Tirumala. The accident scene presented a gory sight with human parts and flesh strewn all around and blood splattered all over. The lorry, after hitting the jeep, hurtled down the road embankment for some distance and stopped only after ploughing through a roadside farm field. The driver of the lorry is said to be absconding. Those identified as dead are: Karthik, S. Satish, Jayamurthy, Vasimraj and Sathish (driver of the local jeep hired by the ill-fated pilgrim party).
