NEW DELHI, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- At least six people have been killed and 16 others injured in a major road accident in the southern Indian state of Telangana Sunday, police said.
"The accident occurred this morning when a state-run bus rammed into a stationary truck on National Highway number 65 near Modugula village in the state's Suryapet district," a senior police official said.
The impact of the collision left six people dead on the spot and those injured have been admitted to a local hospital where the condition of some are said to be serious, the official said.
The bus, which was carrying some 40 passengers and a driver and a conductor, was on its way to state capital Hyderabad from Vijayawada district when the accident occurred.
Eye-witnesses told police that the bus was travelling at a high speed on the national highway and its driver failed to apply brakes when he suddenly spotted the lorry that broke down on roadside, leading to the accident.
A probe has been ordered into the incident, the official said. "The driver of the lorry has fled after the accident, but we will book him for negligence once we get a statement from the bus driver who is currently undergoing treatment at the hospital," he added.
Accidents like this are common on highways in India as most vehicles that break down in the middle of high-speed roads don't place hazard signage well behind to alert other drivers.
