Hyderabad, Jan 10 (IANS): Five migrant workers from Odisha were killed and 16 others were injured in a road accident in Telangana’s Suryapet district on Friday.

The accident occurred near Ilapuram in Chivvemla mandal (block) when a private bus carrying the workers rammed into a stationary truck. The bus driver apparently failed to notice the truck parked by the roadside and rammed into it from behind.

Police were investigating if a tyre burst led to the collision. Some eyewitnesses told police that the bus driver lost control after the tyre burst and rammed into the parked truck. Some others said the tyre burst occurred after the collision. The victims were from Rayagada in Odisha district who were on their way to Hyderabad in search of work.

Police said four persons died on the spot while one injured succumbed at the hospital. Police rushed to the spot and shifted the injured to the Government General Hospital in Suryapet.

The private bus was carrying 32 people, most of whom were labourers heading to Hyderabad through an agency for work. The bus was badly mangled in the crash. The accident led to a traffic jam on the Suryapet-Khammam highway. Police deployed a crane to remove the bus from the road.

Police registered a case and took up the investigation.

Parked vehicles on highways have caused many accidents in recent months. Most of these accidents occur during night hours. Motorists have been urging highway authorities to take firm action against those parking vehicles on highways without taking necessary precautions to alert road users.

Meanwhile, the driver of a crusher lorry had a narrow escape when a portion of the road caved-in in the Goshamahal area in Hyderabad on Friday. The road adjacent to a nala collapsed when the lorry was passing over the stretch. Local people said this was the second incident in the same area in two years. Few persons were injured in a similar incident in 2022.