CHEVELLA: The very passengers who couldn’t find a seat on Monday morning’s ill-fated bus lived, while those who had settled in for the ride died instantlyNarrowest of escapes
- Seated commuters trapped directly under debris, took full force of impact
- Those standing in aisle, jostling for space, survived with minor bruises
- Nearly all fatalities among those seated near the front and middle of the bus, where tonnes of gravel crashed through the windows
- Standing passengers—disoriented, bleeding, terrified—crawled or were dragged out by rescuers through shattered glass and twisted metal
(Map section showing Hyderabad, Chevella, and nearby areas)One survivor, R. Nandini, a pharma student, recalled: “By the time I got in, all the seats were taken, so I stood in the middle of the aisle. Suddenly, there was this huge crash. Everything went dark and dusty. People fell on me, screaming. I couldn’t even breathe. I thought I’d die there.”The crash took place around 6.15 am at Mirjaguda in Chevella, roughly 60 km from Hyderabad. The injured were rushed to Vikarabad Government Hospital and PMR Hospital in Chevella, where their condition is reported to be stable. According to Mahesh Bhagwat, Additional Director General (Law and Order), the truck heading towards Manneguda veered onto the wrong side of the dividerless road and rammed the oncoming TGSRTC bus at high speed, pushing it nearly 50 feet. The impact smashed open the right side of the bus, burying several passengers under gravel spilling from the overloaded lorry.
