In a major mishap at least 34 persons were killed and over 16 injured when a bus in which they were travelling slipped off a bridge and plunged into a valley near Sholapur of Maharasthra in the wee hours of Saturday. The bus was heading to Shirdi. All the 50 members belonged to Andhra Pradesh. The injured persons are undergoing treatment at Sholapur hospital. Notably, Shirdi bus accident sent shock waves among people in AP who often travel by private buses from Hyderabad-Shirdi and Shirdi-Hyderabad.
Volvo bus belonging to Kaleshwari travels left for Shirdi with 50 passengers on Friday evening. They were supposed to reach Shirdi on Saturday morning. The primary reports indicated that at least 16 persons died on the spot while remaining breathed their last at the hospital.
According to Maharashtra Police,
Osmanabad town is around 450 km from Mumbai.
While at least 34 people were killed, a majority of the injured are in serious condition and the casualty figure is expected to go up.
The ill-fated bus, owned by Kaveshwari Travels, was on a journey from Hyderabad to the famous pilgrim centre of Shirdi in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra when the tragedy occurred around 2.30 a.m., Osmanabad Police said.
The accident occurred near Jakot village, around 40 km from Osmanabad, on the Hyderabad-Solapur highway as the bus was proceeding to Shirdi, the abode of the revered saint, Shri Saibaba.
According to eyewitnesses, the bus overturned four-five times and caught fire.
Officials describe it as the worst road tragedy till date in the state.
The exact cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained, a police official said.
The injured have been rushed to hospitals in Osmanabad, Latur, Solapur and other neighbouring towns and efforts are on to identify the dead.
Following the accident tension atmosphere prevailed at many places in Hyderabad with relatives of the passengers thronging the travel agencies in the city for enquiring the safety of their kin and kith.
Bus no: KA 01 0245 (Driver name: Seshu)
