Hyderabad, Nov 3 (PTI) At least 19 people, including a 41 day old girl child, were killed and and 22 others injured when a gravel-laden tipper lorry collided head-on with a government bus in Ranga Reddy district of Telangana on Monday, officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the state government announced ex-gratia to the families of the victims.

Telangana Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, who visited the government hospital at Chevella, where the accident victims were admitted, said, "19 people were killed in the accident".

The lorry collided with the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) vehicle near Chevella, about 50 kms from Hyderabad, on Monday morning at around 7 AM, resulting in the gravel falling on the bus, burying the passengers and causing deaths due to suffocation and trauma, among others.

A district official said 22 people suffered injuries in the accident.

The TGSRTC said in a release that the tipper, loaded with gravel and hard stone chips lost control while overtaking multiple vehicles, veering directly into the path of the oncoming bus.The impact caused extensive damage to the bus, with a large volume of gravel and dust pouring into the passenger compartment.

This led to passengers being trapped, resulting in severe breathing difficulties, multiple injuries, and fatalities due to suffocation and trauma, it said.

The bodies of the 19 people who died in the accident have been shifted to Government Hospital, Chevella for post-mortem examination and identification, it said.

Based on the preliminary inquiry, there is no fault with both the condition of the TGSRTC bus, a hired vehicle and the driver of the bus. It had fitness and valid insurance certification.

"The accident took place because of overspeeding of the heavily loaded gravel tipper which fell onto the bus after its driver lost control of the vehicle in a typically accident prone spot," the release said.

Cyberabad Police Commissioner Avinash Mohanty said the drivers of both vehicles died in the accident.

Noting that a head-on collision occurs when one of the vehicles is on the wrong side, he said the cause of the accident would be known after the inquiry.

With the gravel falling on the bus, several passengers got trapped inside the vehicle and officials carried out relief measures using earthmovers.

A case was booked against the tipper driver for negligent driving, a police official said.

In a post on social media platform 'X', Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the loss of lives in the accident.

He announced a compensation of Rs two lakh to the families of those who died, and Rs 50,000 each to the injured.

"I extend my deepest condolences to the affected individuals and their family members during this difficult time. I pray that the injured recover quickly," he said.

State minister Prabhakar said 72 people were travelling in the ill-fated bus, which was proceeding to Hyderabad from Tandur in Ranga Reddy district.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy held a tele-conference with ministers and officials on the accident.

The government would ensure advanced medical care to the injured and also assist the families of the deceased in conducting funerals, he said.

The government has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

The transport minister also said the state government would offer Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased in addition to Rs 2 lakh from TGSRTC.

The injured would get Rs 2 lakh each.

A senior official of the Transport Department said the tipper has a capacity to carry 35 tons of material. However, they are verifying if it was overloaded.

The accident shattered families.

Three sisters of a family from Tandur-- Tanusha, Saipriya and Nandini were among the deceased.

Similarly, three generations of a family perished in the horrific bus accident, an acquaintance said.

According to Sheikh Amer, his friend's wife Saleha Begum (19), her father Sheikh Khalid Hussain (50) and her 41 day-old baby girl, Zahera Fathima, all three of whom were travelling to Hyderabad died in the collission.

Recalling the horrific incident, a survivor said he was asleep in the bus when a loud thud jolted him awake, leaving him half-buried in gravel after it fell from the lorry upon the impact.

"Several people were buried under the gravel. The tipper lorry came from the opposite direction. I was seated on the left side of the bus. We managed to climb out, but those who were sitting behind the driver couldn't make it — some of them died. I was seated three rows behind the conductor," he told mediapersons.

He further said he opened a window and escaped, with six others following.

Later, another person broke the window panes to free more passengers.

A doctor at the government hospital in Chevella said the accident victims suffered fractures, facial, abdominal and leg injuries.

Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma, Union Ministers G Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay Kumar, state BJP president N Ramchander Rao, BRS Working President K T Rama Rao and several other leaders expressed anguish over the loss of lives in the accident. PTI SJR GDK SA