Guntur, April 26: A tractor trailer carrying 23 farm workers skidded into the Amaravathi major canal near Sattenapalli on Monday morning leading to the death of ten persons while three others were injured.
According to police, the farm workers of Vaddipalli Sundaraiah colony of Sattenapalli left for work in a tractor.
When the tractor driver tried to avert a deep pit, the trailer got delinked and fell into the canal.
Nine women including Kakumanu Lakshmi Kantamma (35), Sirasala Sitaravamma (45), Akurati Sridevi (30), Vadlamanu Lakshmikantamma (36), Mutyala Venkataramana (36), Anumala Samrajyam (34), Kanumuri Ramana (40), Kanumuri Sravani (16), Upusetti Nagamma (36) met with a watery grave. Four others who were injured were shifted to Guntur government hospital but Palla Srinu (34) succumbed to injuries. Eight others swam to safety.
Sattenapalli DSP J Bhakara Rao and CI Konda Reddy initiated rescue operations to fish out the bodies from the canal and sent the injured to the hospital.
Later the tractor driver Ramesh surrendered before the police. Narasaraopet MP M Venugopala Reddy handed over Rs 10,000 each to the family members of deceased persons.
In-charge collector A Sarath said that Rs 5,000 further would be distributed to the family members of all the deceased.
Meanwhile, chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy expressed anguish over the death of the labourers.
–Agencies