India: 40 killed in two road accidents

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Two accidents killed nearly 40 people in India yesterday, including one in which a van full of pilgrims plunged into a river, in the latest deadly crashes on some of the world's most dangerous roads.

Twenty-two people, including seven children, were killed when the van carrying Hindus returning from a pilgrimage to the famous Tirupati-Tirumala temple in Andhra Pradesh lost control on a bridge and fell into the Godavari river.

"The vehicle hit a railing, which broke under the impact of the collision, and fell off the bridge," senior state administrator Arun Kumar said.

"It's purely (a case of) negligent and rash driving. It was not a vulnerable point of the road and neither was there any traffic," the officer said.

The victims were all from Achutapuram village of Visakhapatnam district.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed his grief on Twitter and promised that authorities were "providing all help possible."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi followed suit and conveyed his condolences on the micro-blogging site, calling the incident "saddening and unfortunate."

In the other accident, a head-on collision between a truck and two tractors carrying dozens heading to a prayer ceremony killed 17 people, including five children, in Uttar Pradesh, senior state official Amit Gupta said.

The crash, which left 30 others injured, sparked anger among local residents who blocked roads and threw stones at police near Harchandpur, some 60km from state capital Lucknow.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav expressed grief and announced an immediate compensation of Rs200,000 each to the families of the dead and Rs50,000 each for those injured.