Eight dead, two on ventilator support after two road accidents in Zaheerabad within 15 minutes

At least eight people were killed and several others injured, including two who were placed on ventilator support, after two separate multi-vehicle collisions occurred within 15 minutes of each other in Zaheerabad on Tuesday (August 11), causing severe traffic disruption on the Hyderabad-Bidar road.

In the first accident, six people were killed and several others injured when a speeding tanker hit an overloaded autorickshaw near the Mahindra & Mahindra facility on the Zaheerabad-Bidar road around 7.45 p.m. The victims were reportedly in the autorickshaw that was taking a U-turn when the tanker crashed into it.

According to Zaheerabad town CI Ravi, the deceased were workers from Bidar returning home from work. They were identified as Rekha, Sridevi, Devadas, Kavitha, Reshma and Nikitha. Radhika, Shilpa and Shoba were among the injured and were shifted to a hospital for treatment.

Nirmalamma, Thuljamma and Chandrakala were among those receiving treatment, with their condition described as critical. Two of the injured are on ventilator support, the officer said.

In the second accident, which occurred about 15 minutes after the first within the limits of Kohir police station, two people were killed and two others injured after an Ertiga allegedly crossed the road divider while travelling towards Hyderabad and collided with vehicles coming from the opposite direction.

CI Ravi explained that the Ertiga, while apparently attempting to overtake another car, crossed the divider and first collided with another Ertiga before crashing into an Innova travelling in the opposite direction.

The two occupants of the Ertiga died in the collision. They were identified as Mallikarjun, an employee of MRF, and Shankar. Two others sustained injuries and were shifted to a hospital for treatment.

The two accidents brought traffic on the Zaheerabad-Bidar road to a standstill, with vehicles backed up for nearly 5 km as police and emergency personnel cleared the wreckage and managed traffic.