Twenty-two passengers of a Hyderabad-bound Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus had a lucky escape when it overturned at Kotaram in Addakul mandal of Mahabubnagar district in the early hours of Tuesday.
Four passengers suffered fractures in the accident, while the rest sustained minor injuries, the police said. The luxury bus was on its way to the city from Bangalore and started in the evening. It reached Kotaram around 4.45 a.m when the accident occurred.
Driver dozes off“The driver apparently dozed off at the wheel and drove the vehicle onto the roadside where it overturned. A small tree prevented the bus from falling into a well. There was also an electricity pole in the vicinity,” A. Ramesh Babu, Inspector Kottakota, said.
Two drivers were on the bus and while the first driver drove till Kurnool the other driver, Shanta Raj, took over the steering from there. On receipt of information, a police team led by M. Venkateshwarlu, Sub Inspector of Addakul police station rushed to the spot and rescued the passengers from the bus.
The injured were rushed to a nearby government hospital for treatment. Among the injured were Shiv Anand, Pradhan Das, Sree Vani and another person from Karnataka.
“Preliminary enquiries point to the negligence of the driver. We are recording the version of the passengers and will take action accordingly,” the official added.
