Five members of a Gangireddula (folk art) troupe were killed on the spot when a coal-laden lorry rammed head-on into the autorickshaw they were travelling in near V. M. Banjara on Kothagudem-Vijayawada highway in Penuballi mandal in the early hours of Tuesday.
The deceased include a father-son duo and three others of a tiny hamlet inhabited by Gangireddula community at Tekulapalli in Penuballi mandal.
The police identified the deceased as P. Narasimha, 45, the head of the troupe and his son P. Maresh, 16, besides troupe members P. Gopi, 33, K. Veera Swamy, 40, and P. Anjaiah, 33, the driver of the autorickshaw.
ADVERTISEMENT
All the five occupants of the autorickshaw died instantaneously. They were returning home after attending a religious fair in Kanchikacherla mandal when they met a tragic end. The driver of the lorry reportedly fled the scene.