Hyderabad, Feb 8 (IANS): A news reader of a Telugu news channel was killed and his wife and two sons were injured in a road accident in Andhra Pradesh's West Godavari district Sunday, police said.

K. Veerabhadra Rao, popular as Bhadri, was killed and his wife, two sons and another family member were injured when the car in which they were travelling hit a tree near Lakshminagar in Dwarka Tirumala mandal.

Police said the injured were first shifted to a hospital at Eluru and later to Vijayawada. The condition of one of Bhadri's two sons remains critical.

Bhadri, a popular face on Telugu news channel TV9, was returning to his native village in the same district after attending marriage of his relative Saturday night. He was 38.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, his Telangana counterpart K. Chandrasekhar Rao and leaders of all political parties in both the states expressed deep shock over the news presenter's death.

Naidu said he was saddened by the death of the dynamic journalist. The Andhra Pradesh chief minister said Bhadri's style of anchoring brought him popularity.