In a gory mishap, three persons, including a couple and a woman, were killed on the spot, and nine others were grievously injured when the van in which they were traveling had a head-on collision with a speeding lorry on the outskirts of Srikalahasti temple town, 35 km from here, in the wee hours of Monday, April 25, 2022.
According to information, a twelve-member batch from Chandragiri mandal was returning home in a van after participating in the local jatara at Kanupuramma temple near Naidupeta of Gudur division.
Around 2. a.m., a lorry proceeding towards the Chennai-Kolkata National Highway hit the van head-on at a high speed.
The accident spot is located at a sharp curve on the Naidupet-Puthalapattu bypass road close to Ardhanareeswara Swamy temple on the outskirts of Srikalahasti, considered an accident-prone zone.
The injured were identified as middle-aged couple Arjunaiah and Narasamma and their relative Kavya (23).
Of the nine injured four were children aged below 10. The Srikalahasti sub-division police rushed to the spot and shifted the injured to the government area hospital at Srikalahasti and were later shifted to SVRR Hospital at Tirupati for better critical care.
The accident resulted in a major traffic snarl on the busy national highway, giving a tough time to the police.
District Collector K. Venkataramana Reddy called on the injured at SVRR Hospital and assured them and their family members of all possible assistance from the government. Srikalahasti police registered a case and took up further investigation.