19 pilgrims injured as minivan overturns

Tirupati: Nineteen devotees who came to Tirumala from Hyderabad in a minibus were injured when their vehicle turned turtle while overtaking another vehicle near Balaji Dairy in Tirupati rural mandal on Naidupeta-Puthalapattu highway on Monday evening.

According to police, 19 persons representing four families and belonging to the areas of Ramanthapur, Ambarpet and Ramnagar in Hyderabad reached Tirumala by a minibus on Sunday and after darshan they went to Kanipakam on Monday morning.

While returning to Hyderabad from Kanipakam, the vehicle in which they were travelling overturned near Balaji Dairy in Tirupati rural mandal and the passengers sustained injuries.

Some of them sustained severe injuries and the rest escaped with minor injuries. The injured were shifted to a private hospital in the city and others to Ruia Hospital.

The passengers travelling in the vehicle were identified as Padma, Ramu, Geetha, Limbhaleswar, Koushik Kumar, Raj Kumar, Manjula, Prameela, Nikhil, Hyndavi, Vishnu Sri, Venkateswarlu, Kalpana, Nikhitha, Vaishnavi, Venkatesh, Maheswari, Aruna and Sarvani.

After receiving information, the Tiruchanur police rushed to the place and shifted the injured to Ruia and a private hospital through 108 ambulances. Police registered a case.