In a ghastly accident that happened on the Kurnapally-Jankampet road, 20 km west of the district headquarters, five persons travelling by an autorikshaw were killed when it collided with a car on Sunday afternoon.
The victims, all belonging to Jankampet village, were returning home after attending a kandur (feast) at Kurnapally dargah when the accident occurred. The diseased were identified as Akula Balamani (56), Jakkam Gangamani (60), Kallepuram Sailu (70), Chikkala Sailu (65) and Shaik Nayeem (35), auto driver.
According to Sub-Inspector B. Yella Goud, the accident took place near an electric sub-station. The car was going towards Kurnapally and its driver fled the scene, abandoning the vehicle. It was not immediately known who were travelling in the car.
All passengers in the autorikshaw were killed. Negligence of the car driver was the primary reason for the accident, said the SI. The bodies were shifted to the Government General Hospital here for post-mortem.
