14 pilgrims en route Ajmer killed in road accident in AP

As many as 14 people, part of a group of pilgrims on their way to Ajmer dargah in Rajasthan, were killed and four others grievously injured after the tempo they were travelling in collided with a truck on the Hyderabad-bengaluru national highway-44 in Andhra Pradesh’s Madarpuram village in Kurnool district early on Sunday, officials said. The tempo van, which was carrying 18 people, hit the road divider at a high speed, jumped the divider and rammed a truck coming from the opposite direction. The impact was such that the van was crushed under the wheels of the truck, Kurnool collector G Veerapandian said. While 14 people, including eight women and a child, died on the spot, four other children sustained injuries. “It appears the driver was feeling drowsy at that time and he had lost control over steering,” district superintendent of police Dr Fakeerappa said. Chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased.