Two Women Killed as Lorry Rams Stationary Tourist Bus on NH-44 near Armoor

Two women were killed and two others sustained severe injuries on Thursday after a speeding lorry rammed into a stationary tourist bus near the Govindpet bridge in Armoor mandal on National Highway 44.

The victims were part of a group of devotees travelling from Kinwat in Maharashtra's Nanded district to Hyderabad to meet Chinna Jeeyar Swamy. The group was travelling in two tourist buses when the first vehicle (TG 01 T 1864) suffered a tyre puncture, prompting the second bus (TG 21 T 2172) to halt alongside it on the highway.

While the bus was stopped, several passengers stepped out and sat on the road divider. A lorry (GT 27 TF 7482) approaching from behind failed to notice the parked tourist bus and crashed into it. The force of the collision pushed the bus forward, running over the passengers standing and sitting along the divider.

Two women, identified as Sujatha, 54, and Madhavi, 47, died on the spot. Two other passengers, Sunitha and Chittakka, sustained serious injuries and were rushed to a local government hospital for treatment.

Police personnel arrived at the scene, initiated rescue operations, and cleared the highway after traffic was disrupted for a period. The bodies of the deceased were shifted to the government hospital for post-mortem examination.

Police Commissioner Sai Chaitanya inspected the crash site and examined the positioning of the vehicles. Following the incident, police issued a safety advisory urging motorists to turn on hazard warning lights and place reflective warning indicators behind vehicles during breakdowns or tyre punctures on national highways.