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Over 40 people, including six children, have died in a bus accident in Telangana, a southern state India.
A state-owned commercial bus carrying 70 people skidded off the ghat road near in Jagtiyal district of the state on Tuesday and fell into the valley resulting in the accident, officials said, reports NDTV.
Authorities said break failure could be one of the reason for the accident. The bus was carrying a large number of pilgrims who were returning from Anjaneya Swamy temple atop Kondagattu Hills, about 190 km from Hyderabad.
"The incident happened between 11.45 am and noon," Jagtial District Collector A Sharat, who is supervising the relief and rescue work, was quoted by news agency PTI.
Telangana Caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has announced financial assistance of Rs. 500,000 each to the families of the dead, a CMO release said.
The injured were shifted to a government-run hospital in Jagtial. A few critically injured were shifted to hospitals in Karimnagar and Hyderabad.
Road transport authorities said there were standing instructions on standard operating procedure and protocols to avoid accidents on the ghat road.