Hyderabad: Two serious collisions within a span of ninety minutes rattled the usually quiet stretch of NH-167 near Makthal in Narayanpet district early Thursday morning, triggering fresh concerns about road safety amid persistent rains.
In the latest of the two incidents, a car rammed into a truck from behind near Kachwar village at around 6:30 am. The driver, Veeresh, a resident of Ramasamudram in Makthal mandal, was en route from Jaklair when his car (bearing AP 22 AQ 3735) crashed into a lorry heading towards Raichur. The impact crumpled the car’s front section, leaving Veeresh with minor injuries. Locals rushed him to Mahbubnagar district hospital for treatment. Early reports suggest the slick road and failed brakes during rain might have caused the driver to lose control.
Just over an hour earlier, chaos had already unfolded near Narsireddypalli and Jaklair villages along the same highway. Around 5 am, a Volvo bus belonging to Durgamma Travels ploughed into a lorry from behind, injuring 18 of the 29 passengers on board. The bus, which had started from Shivamogga in Karnataka, was heading to Hyderabad when the collision occurred. The entire front of the bus was left mangled by the force of the crash.
Police teams arrived swiftly, launching rescue operations to pull the injured out. Sub-Inspector Bhagyalakshmi Reddy confirmed that while 18 passengers were admitted to Makthal government hospital, seven of them had to be shifted to facilities in Raichur and Mahbubnagar for specialised care.
The back-to-back crashes, both involving vehicles rear-ending lorries, have once again thrown light on the dangers of night and early morning travel during monsoon conditions, with poor visibility and slippery roads compounding the risk.