Bodies of Shridi pilgrims being shifted to Hyderabad

Hyderabad - Bodies of 32 Shirdi pilgrims from Andhra Pradesh, who died in a bus accident in Maharashtra's Osmanabad district early Saturday, are being shifted to Hyderabad, officials said.

Eleven of those killed have been identified and an autopsy has already been done on them, a police official here said.

A team of officials, led by state Civil Supplies Minister Sridhar Babu, left for Osmanabad in a helicopter to make special arrangements for shifting the bodies to Hyderabad and to ensure medical help to 14 injured undergoing treatment at Osmanabad and Sholapur in Maharashtra.

The state authorities were also arranging special buses to take the relatives of the victims to Osmanabad.

Dozens of people gathered at the office of Sree Kaleswari Travels in Lakdi Ka Pul here, seeking information about their relatives. They complained that the private travel operator has no details about the victims.

At least 32 people were killed and about 14 injured when the bus fell off a bridge near Jakot village, 40 km from Osmanabad, on the Hyderabad-Sholapur highway around 3 a.m.

The bus, carrying 43 passengers, had left Hyderabad Friday night for popular pilgrim centre Shirdi in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district.

The victims belong to Hyderabad and other districts of the state. Seven of them were members of a family from Guntur district.

Among passengers, 14 to 16 were employees of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), of which four are stated to be undergoing treatment in a hospital. The company has sent two teams to the accident site.

A large number of relatives of the passengers were anxiously waiting for some information about their near and dear ones.

The police were facing difficulty in gathering details of the passengers as they had booked tickers either online or from various travel agencies in Hyderabad.

Expressing shock over the mishap, Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy directed the officials to provide all help to the victims and their families.

He also directed the transport department to take action against the private travel operator for alleged negligence and the delay in providing information about the passengers.

R.V. Chandravadan, commissioner, information and public relations, said steps were being taken to bring the bodies to Hyderabad. "If necessary, the injured will be brought here for treatment," he said.