9 persons die as cars collide at Kothakota

Hyderabad: Nine persons died in a major road accident involving two cars at Kothakota town in Wanaparthy district of Telangana on Wednesday morning. Two persons sustained injuries and were undergoing treatment at a city hospital.

According to police, the accident took place around 8 am on Wednesday when a cab bound for Kurnool from the city ran over the road divider and collided with another coming in the opposite direction.

“The cab driver might have dozed off, resulting in the car jumping the divider. Nevertheless, we have asked the Road Transport Authority officials to check the vehicles to know if there was any technical failure. The cars were fully damaged and none of the injured is able to tell what exactly happened,” said Kothakota Sub-Inspector Ravi Kumar.

The impact of the collision was such that the vehicles were mangled and it took the police at least an hour to pull out the injured and the dead. Seven persons died on the spot owing to impact of the collision while two succumbed while undergoing treatment at a hospital in nearby Mahbubnagar town. All the dead are residents of Hyderabad, Wanaparthy and Kurnool districts.

Police said there were six persons in the cab, while the other vehicle, a blue Renault Pulse, was carrying five members of a family who live in Bandangpet on city outskirts.

The victims in the cab were identified as Raju from Ajjakollu, Mallesh from Mastipiur, Banni from Mulammalla, Veeresh, Lankala Naresh from Nandimalla mandal. The victims in the Pulse car were identified as Suri Babu, his wife Sunita, daughter Prasuna and mother-in-law Rajeshwari.

Local reports said that driver lost control over the vehicle after the front tyre burst resulting in the vehicle going out of control