Anantapur: Six of family dead as lorry rams vehicle

Anantpur: Six members of a family were killed when a speeding lorry rammed into the mini-truck they were travelling in near Pedda Hothur in Alur mandal of Kurnool district early on Wednesday.

The victims were identified as Sheik Khaja, Sheik Hussain, Haneef, Fatima, Hajra and Sheik Mohit of the Old City of Kurnool.

Police said that Sheik Khaja, along with his family members and relatives, had hired the vehicle to travel to the Ellarthi dargah where they planned to offer prayers.

After completing the rituals, 17 members of the family were returning to Kurnool early on Wednesday.

When the vehicle reached Pedda Hothur in Alur mandal, its engine stalled, the police said.

The driver parked the vehicle on the roadside and was trying to repair it. Eleven of the passengers, including three children, got down from the vehicle and six remained seated on it.

At that moment, a speeding lorry proceeding towards Bellary from Kurnool hit the vehicle, killing the six persons who were sitting inside. The others suffered some injuries, according to the police. The condition of three of the injured was said to be critical and they were rushed to hospital.

One of the victims said that the lorry driver sped away without even trying to help the injured.

 The victims alerted the Alur police who rushed to the spot and shifted the injured to hospitals in Alur and Adoni.