A pre-dawn collision between an APSRTC passenger bus and a truck on National Highway 716 near Tirupati has left three people dead and more than fifteen injured, according to local police. The accident occurred in the early hours of Monday when the bus, carrying a mix of pilgrims and daily commuters toward Tirupati, collided head-on with a truck travelling from the opposite direction.
Eyewitnesses say the bus driver attempted to swerve at the last moment but could not avoid the impact given the truck’s speed and the narrow road shoulder at that stretch. The force of the collision crushed the bus’s front section, trapping several passengers inside. Locals and passing motorists were the first responders, pulling injured passengers from the wreckage before ambulances arrived from nearby government hospitals.
Of the injured, at least four are reported to be in critical condition and have been shifted to a higher-care facility in Tirupati for specialized treatment. The remaining injured are being treated for fractures and lacerations at the regional hospital. Police have registered a case and are investigating whether excessive speed, poor visibility, or a mechanical fault contributed to the crash.
NH-716 has seen a spike in heavy traffic in recent weeks as pilgrim footfall to Tirumala has risen sharply ahead of the upcoming festival season, with several private and APSRTC buses pressed into additional service. Transport officials say this stretch of the highway, despite recent widening work, still has blind curves and inadequate night-time lighting that residents have long flagged as a safety concern.
District officials have announced ex-gratia compensation for the families of the deceased and assured that the injured will receive free treatment at government hospitals. APSRTC has ordered an internal inquiry into the bus’s maintenance records and the driver’s duty roster, while reviewing speed-governor compliance across its fleet on high-traffic pilgrim routes.
The incident has reignited calls from local representatives for better road engineering and stricter night-time speed enforcement on NH-716, a route increasingly strained by religious tourism traffic. Authorities have promised a report within a week, even as grieving families continue arriving at the hospital morgue to identify their loved ones.
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