Seven killed in three road accidents in Andhra Pradesh
Visakhapatnam: At least seven persons were killed in three separate road accidents in north coastal Andhra Pradesh, police said on Sunday.
Three people were killed when a truck collided with an auto-rickshaw in Andhra Pradesh’s Vizianagaram district in the early hours of Sunday.
The accident occurred near Shikaruganti village in Dattirajeru mandal. All three occupants in the auto-rickshaw died on the spot.
The deceased have been identified as auto-rickshaw driver G. Tirupati, T. Adinarayana and G. Ramu.
On receipt of information, police rushed to the spot and shifted the bodies to a nearby government hospital for post-mortem examination.
The truck was being driven at a high speed, which is suspected to have led to the collision.
Police have registered a case and taken up the investigation.
According to police, auto-rickshaw driver Tirupati, a resident of Gajarayunivalasa village in Badangi mandal, along with Adinarayana, a farmer, were coming from Gajapatinagaram. Fish trader Ramu boarded the vehicle at Peddamanapuram.
When the three-wheeler reached Shikaruganti crossroads, it was hit by the speeding truck.
Meanwhile, two persons died in an accident at Makavaram in Anakapalli district. The accident occurred when a tractor overturned. The vehicle was heading for quarry drilling work.
Two persons were killed in another accident in Visakhapatnam district. The accident occurred near Kurmannapalem bus depot on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam when a lorry hit a motorbike. Two youths riding the bike died on the spot.
Andhra Pradesh is one of the states known for a high number of road accidents. On average, 22 people are losing their lives in road accidents in the state every day.
The state recorded 9,194 accidents from January to June this year, claiming 4,058 lives.
Last year, road accidents in the state claimed 23 lives every day. Though this number has slightly come down this year, the high number of road fatalities remains a cause for concern.
Police say non-compliance with traffic rules, safety norms and negligent driving are the main causes of accidents.
Statistics show two-wheeler riders account for the highest number of fatalities. In the 9,194 accidents reported so far this year, 3,980 two-wheelers were involved. As many as 1,835 (45.21 per cent) of those who died were two-wheeler riders.
The second-highest fatalities (669) were of pedestrians.
