In a ghastly road mishap, at least 6 persons were killed and 20 others injured, when a DCM van fell into a 30-foot deep gorge near Tulasipaka in Chintur mandal in Khammam district, early on Saturday.
According to police, the 6 victims have been identified as Chitti Babu, Veera Lakshmi and Nageswara Rao, along with the van driver, cleaner and an unidentified girl. 4 of the injured are stated to be in a critical condition. They, along with 16 others, are undergoing treatment at a Khammam hospital.
The bodies have been sent to thr Government General Hospital in Khammam for postmortem.
Police said the mishap occurred when the passengers were heading towards Vijayawada in a van from East Godavari district, to go to the Kanaka Durga temple for Vijaya Dasami. It is believed that the accident took place when the van driver lost control over the vehicle while negotiating a turn.
At the time of the mishap, the van was carrying 40 devotees.