Four Spanish nationals killed as mini bus collides with container truck in Andhra Pradesh

A mini bus collided with a container truck in Chittoor district on Saturday, killing four Spanish nationals, two of them women, and their driver, police said.

Six others, also Spanish nationals, were injured, one of them critically, in the accident. One of the passengers suffered fractures, while the others escaped with minor injuries, they said.

The Spanish nationals had come to see development activities, initiated by the Rural Development Trust run by a group from Spain, in villages in Anantapuramu district.

The deceased were identified as Vincent Prez, Josefa Moran, Francisco Pedrosa and Nieves Lopez. The bus driver, a local resident, was yet to be identified, police said.

The victims were on their way to Puducherry from Anantapuramu district when the collision took place at a curve on the Madanapalle-Punganuru road, Rajasekhara Babu, district superintendent of police, told PTI over the phone.

"There were 11 people, including the driver, in the mini bus. The driver of the container truck lost control while negotiating the curve and collided head-on with the mini bus. While five were killed on the spot, one was critically injured and another suffered fractures," the SP said.

"The injured were shifted to Columbia-Asia Hospital in Bengaluru for treatment," the police officer said. 

The passengers who suffered minor injuries were initially treated at the area hospital in Madanapalle.

District Collector P S Paradyumna visited the accident spot along with the SP.

Expressing grief over the incident, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu directed the collector to get in touch with the Spanish embassy in New Delhi for obtaining details of the victims.

The chief minister also directed the officials to make necessary arrangements to shift the bodies.