Sixteen persons were killed and several others sustained injuries in two road accidents in Karimnagar district on Wednesday.
Ten Hanuman devotees were killed when the lorry in which they were travelling fell into a gorge on the ghat road at Sri Anjaneyaswamy Devasthanam at Kondagattu in Mallial mandal. They were among the 60 pilgrims from Dharmaram village in Nizamabad district, travelling in the lorry.
After prayers, they were returning when the brakes of the lorry failed and it fell into the gorge. Seven persons were killed on the spot and three others succumbed to injuries in the hospital. Several others were being treated in the hospital for injuries. The accident site presented a gory picture with the lorry smashed and the bodies of the victims and their belongings strewn around.
The victims were identified as A. Rohit (7), Ch. Vigneshwar (7), M. Anil (15), S. Srinivas (17), A. Gangadhar Goud (45), L. Rajeshwar (45), E. Sayanna (35), Ch. Tirupathi (43), A. Ramesh (28) and A. Chinasayanna (40).
In another accident, five women of a marriage party and the driver were killed when the van in which they were travelling was hit by a salt-laden van on the outskirts of Renikunta village of Thimmapur mandal in the early hours of Wednesday.
The marriage party including the bride and the groom was proceeding from Gangadhara mandal to Hyderabad after the reception. The van which was reportedly travelling at a high speed collided with the salt-laden van and later hit the front-yard of a house before coming to a halt. The victims were identified as Muthyala Vijaya (28), Muthyala Saramma (60), M. Padma (26), Nalla Kalamma (45) and Chinta Latchamma (35), all residents of Addagutta of Secunderabad. Driver of the salt-laden van Sadanandam (36) of Warangal succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment. The bride and the groom and 20 others of the marriage party sustained injuries and were being treated in various hospitals in Karimnagar.
