The grim count of fatalities from the tragic bus crash in Rangareddy, Telangana on Monday has risen to 19. An eyewitness passenger revealed that most of those sitting towards the driver's side perished, while those behind the conductor's seat survived.
Passenger Masharat Ali, recalling the harrowing incident, shared with the media that he was taking a nap on the bus when a deafening crash jolted him awake, finding himself half-buried in gravel.
The eyewitness told PTI, "Many were trapped under the gravel. The tipper lorry was on the wrong side. I was seated on the left side of the bus. We somehow managed to get out, but those sitting behind the driver couldn’t escape. Some of them didn’t survive." He noted he was three rows behind the conductor.
He described how he opened a window and crawled out with six others. Later, someone else smashed another window to help more passengers escape.
Read more about the tragic crash
Generational loss, a joyous journey turned mournful
This catastrophe has obliterated entire generations, leaving many families shattered. According to Sheikh Amer, his friend's wife Saleha Begum (19), her father Sheikh Khalid Hussain (50), and her 41-day-old baby daughter Zahra Fatima lost their lives in the tragedy.
The family was returning to Hyderabad after introducing the newborn to relatives in Tandur. Saleha’s husband, Waheed Hussain, a truck driver, was on duty elsewhere. Khalid Hussain was the sole earner of the family.
The unbearable pain of losing three daughters
Similarly, a family from Tandur, Ranga Reddy district lost its three daughters in this disaster. College students Nandini, Saipriya, and Tanusha were among the victims.
Their mother, Ambika, was found crying uncontrollably at Chevella government hospital, where the bodies were taken. Ambika lamented that her daughters were supposed to visit Hyderabad a day earlier but didn’t—and today, this calamity befell them.
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Gravel's deadly weight on the injured father
Survivor Ashok, slightly injured, painfully recounted the scene of his father Hanumantha's (45) death. Traveling for Ashok's ear treatment from Kodangal to a hospital in Hyderabad, he recalled, "My father was sitting next to me. After the tipper hit us, many people and a massive amount of gravel fell on my father."
