A tragic road accident on the outskirts of Gudur mandal's Marrimitta village, in Mahbubabad district, today left six natives of Errakunta thanda village dead.
A speeding lorry, coming from Narsampet, crashed into the auto rickshaw carrying the victims.
The deceased, most of whom belonged to the same family, were identified as Jatoth Kalyani (48), Jatoth Prameela (23), Jatoth Pradeep (25), Jatoth Prasad (42), Jatoth Divya (19), and auto driver Jatoth Ramu (33).
The victims were reportedly travelling to Warangal to buy new clothes for soon-to-be bride Prameela, who was to be married on February 10.
Speaking on the matter, the police officials present at the site of the mishap said that the speed of the lorry was the main reason behind the accident.
The lorry driver was reportedly taken into police custody.
After hearing of the incident, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao expressed his shock over the tragedy, and conveyed his condolence to families of the bereaved.
Panchayat Raj Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao and Tribal Welfare Minister Satyavathi Rathod also expressed their condolences to the kin of the deceased.
Dayakar Rao said that the government would take steps to support the victims' kin.
This is the latest in a string of gory road mishaps in the state. Just some days ago,
five people lost their lives in a similar accident when an auto-rickshaw and a truck collided in Mominpet, in Vikarabad district.
Concerned by the rise in road accidents, the Telangana government has been taking various steps to prevent such mishaps. As part of these efforts, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar had held a
meeting on road safety measures at the BRKR Bhavan, last month.