Five killed in road accident near Mindivanipalem

The victims included a man and his wife, and the driver

Five persons, including three women, died on the spot, and one suffered injuries when a lorry carrying animal bones overturned after hitting a palm tree on the State Highway near Mindivanipalem under Anandapuram mandal in the district in the early hours of Monday.

The victims included a husband and wife, who were both workers, and the driver of the vehicle. The workers of a private bones powder mill were proceeding in the bones-laden vehicle from Vizianagaram to Gidijala under Anandapuram mandal, where the dumping yard of the bones powder mill is located.

Driver’s fault?

Four workers were sitting in the cabin while one man was standing on the load of bones. The driver of the vehicle reportedly dozed off and lost control over the vehicle and hit the tree while negotiating a curve and the vehicle overturned around 12:30 a.m.

Three workers and the driver who were in the cabin were crushed to death while the man who was sleeping on the load was trapped under the bones. Another woman worker, who was sitting in the cabin, escaped with injuries. The deceased were identified as D. Pydiraju (35), driver of the vehicle, U. Dhanunjai (36) and U. Chinnatalli (30), husband and wife, K. Prameela (25) and G. Santhamma (42). The injured woman was admitted to King George Hospital in the city, where her condition is said to be stable.

Inspector (Traffic) of Bheemunipatnam M. Chandrasekhar and his team arranged for the bodies shifted to the government hospital and later they were handed over to their relatives after post-mortem.