A van, carrying 23 pilgrims, was returning from Tirupati and fell into Godavari river. Nine women and seven children are among the victims. All the victims are from Atchutapuram in Visakhapatnam. At least 22 people are feared dead after a van fell into Dowleswaram Barrage near Rajahmundry.
According to police, the driver lost control over the wheel due to over speeding. The vehicle hit the road divider and fell into the river from the bridge. Police said 22 people died on the spot while a girl, who was rescued and shifted to Rajahmundry hospital, died a few hours later. The lone survivor, Kiran, 13, is undergoing treatment in hospital. His condition is said to be critical. There were 23 people in the vehicle when it met with the accident. Scores of villagers rushed to the spot to take up rescue operation, but the occupants had died by then.
The victims included six men, nine women and seven children. A pall of gloom descended on Atchutapuram as the news of the tragic incident reached the village.
State Home Minister N. Chinna Rajappa rushed to the spot. He said it was the driver’s fault, as he fell asleep while driving.
Rajahmundry Urban DSP, Ambika Prasad said they received the information at 5:30 am. Prasad said all the victims belonged to one family. The capacity of the vehicle is 14 but 23 people were travelling in it.
The Dowleswaram Barrage is an irrigation structure which is built on the lower stretch of the Godavari River before it empties into the Bay of Bengal. It was built by a British irrigation engineer, Sir Arthur Thomas Cotton. His many projects averted famines and stimulated the economy of southern India. It has been a tourist attraction in Rajahmundry. The Godavari River empties its water into the Bay of Bengal after flowing nearly fifty miles from the Dowleswaram Barrage. The village of Dowleshwaram is at a distance of eight kilometers downstream of Rajamundry. Rajamundry is a city situated on the left bank of Godavari River. Upstream, where the river is divided into two streams; the Gautami to the left and the Vasistha to the right, forms the dividing line between the West Godavari and the East Godavari districts. The Dowleswaram Barrage is 15 feet high and 3.5 km long, with 175 crest gates to pass the floods.
