22 people, including seven children, of one family were killed when a vehicle carrying them back from a visit to Tirupati temple fell from a bridge into Godavari river in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh today, police said.
The SUV, in which 23 persons were travelling, fell from the bridge in the early hours. A police official said that they received information about the incident at around 5 am.
All the victims belonged to one family and a boy is the lone survivor in the tragedy. The victims, who belong to Achyutapuram near Visakhapatnam, were returning home after visiting Tirupati temple.
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The boy sustained injuries but he is out of danger.
"The vehicle hit a railing, which broke under its impact, and fell from the bridge," East Godavari Collector Arun Kumar told PTI.
Among the deceased are seven children, eight women and men, including the driver of the vehicle, who was also its owner, he said.
"It's purely (a case of) negligent and rash driving. It was not a vulnerable point of the road nor was there any traffic," the official said.
State Panchayat Raj Minister Ch Ayyanna Patrudu said the government would conduct the funeral of the deceased as none in the family survived to perform the rituals.
The government would extend financial assistance to the boy who survived, he said.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed grief over the incident.
"Deeply saddened about tragic death of 21 people travelling in a van after it fell off Dowleswaram bridge. I'm monitoring the situation," he tweeted in the morning.
Deputy Chief Minister N Chinna Rajappa visited the site of the accident in the morning following a directive of the Chief Minister.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condoled the loss of lives in the mishap and termed the incident "saddening and unfortunate".
