Overloaded truck, overcrowded bus among key causes of Chevella road tragedy: Police probe

Preliminary investigations into the Chevella crash that killed 21 people indicate both the RTC bus and gravel-laden truck were overloaded. Police suspect excess passengers, poor road conditions, and regulatory lapses contributed to the accident. A case has been registered for further probe.

Hyderabad: An overloaded truck and an overcrowded RTC bus are believed to have been one of the major contributors which caused the road crash in Mirzaguda in Chevella.

The bus, traveling from Tandur bus depot to Hyderabad, collided head-on with a gravel-laden truck, leading to one of the deadliest mishaps in recent times.

Preliminary police investigations revealed that both vehicles were carrying excess load. The truck was overloaded with gravel, while the RTC bus had far more passengers than its permitted capacity.

The visuals from the accident site, showing a woman trapped under heaps of gravel, have shaken many.

Opinions are that an overloaded truck and an overcrowded bus were a deadly combination, regardless of who was at fault. Poor road conditions and failure to deploy sufficient buses to handle passenger rush were also being cited as major causes.

Questions are being raised as to why were 70 passengers traveling in a bus meant for 50 persons and on the other hand, did the truck have permission to operate on that route at that hour. Officials say these aspects were under investigation.

The Chevella Police have registered a case and begun a detailed probe into the incident.