Nine people were killed and several others seriously injured in two separate road accidents on National Highway-65 in Telangana's Sangareddy district on Tuesday night.
In the first and more serious accident, a speeding tanker truck rammed a passenger auto-rickshaw near Satwar village in Mogudampally mandal as the vehicle was reportedly taking a U-turn.
The auto was carrying around 12 daily-wage workers from Rajagiri in the Bidar district of neighbouring Karnataka, who were returning home after travelling to Zaheerabad in Telangana for work.
Six women and the auto driver were killed in the crash. Those who died were identified as Rekha, Sridevi, Kavitha, Reshma and auto driver Devadas.
The women travelled to Zaheerabad regularly in search of daily-wage employment. Several other passengers suffered serious injuries and were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment. Police said the condition of some of the injured was critical.
The second accident occurred on NH-65, which is known as the Mumbai highway, near Kaveli in Kohir mandal, where a car reportedly hit the highway median and then collided with vehicles travelling in the opposite direction.
Two people were killed in the crash, while several others sustained injuries. At least four vehicles were damaged in the collision.
Police teams reached both accident sites soon after the incidents and shifted the injured to hospitals.
Investigations are underway to establish the precise circumstances leading to the crashes, including the sequence of the collisions and possible speeding or other traffic violations. Both back-to-back accidents have shocked locals.
