Five persons were killed on the spot and two others grievously injured when a lorry rammed an autorickshaw near VM Banjara of Khammam district in the wee hours of Tuesday.
According to the information, the accident occurred near VM Banjara under Penuballi mandal in the district when an over-speeding lorry, loaded with coal, proceeding to Vijayawada from Kothagudem dashed against the ill-fated autorickshaw killing five persons on the spot and injuring two others. Under the impact of the collision, both the lorry and the three-wheeler ploughed into the roadside agricultural field. The auto turned into a ball of iron and pierced into the soil under the lorry.
The victims were identified as Panku Narsimha of Tekulapalli village under Penuballi mandal, his son Maresh, brother Gopi, auto driver Panku Anjaiah and Kalakuntla Veeraswamy. They met with death while returning from Satyalapadu village under Gampalagudem mandal of Krishna district. The driver of the lorry reportedly fled immediately after the accident.
On receipt of the information, the police rushed to the spot and were trying to extricate the bodies from the soil. (NSS)