5 Killed in 2 Road Mishaps

Tirupati: At least five people were killed and two sustained critical injuries in two separate road accidents in Prakasam and Nellore districts on Thursday.

The first incident occurred in Tangutur Mandal, Prakasam district, where three women from Kandukur town — Gullapalli Sravani, 22, K. Divya, 27, and Rayuni Aruna, 45 — died after the car they were travelling in overturned at Surareddypalem village on the Chennai-Kolkata highway. Two others sustained critical injuries. The group was returning from Palvancha in Telangana after attending a wedding, Tangutur sub-inspector A. Nageswara Rao said, attributing the accident to the driver's loss of control due to drowsiness, resulting in the car mounting the divider, veering into the opposite lane, overturning, and claiming three lives on the spot. The injured were rushed to the hospital, police said.

In another accident in Varikuntapadu Mandal, Nellore district, two lorry drivers, Batha Subbarayudu, 60, from Kadapa and Rasaputhra Prathap Singh, 44, from Madanapalli, died after a collision where a mini-lorry struck a stationary truck near Bhogyamvari Palli. According to sub-inspector Tirupataiah, Subbarayudu had stopped to check the tyres when Prathap Singh's vehicle crashed into his from behind, killing both drivers on the spot. Police have registered separate cases to investigate both incidents.