Two killed in fire as lorries collide head-on in Khammam

Hyderabad: Two lorry drivers died after their vehicles collided head-on and caught fire in Thirumalayapalem on the Khammam-Warangal Highway on Tuesday morning. Two cleaners, travelling in the vehicles, managed to jump out but were injured and are currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital.

According to Venkateshwarulu, a head constable from the Thirumalayapalem police station, the deceased were identified as K James (58), from NTR district in Andhra Pradesh, and Prakash Chouhan (35), from Uttar Pradesh. The incident led to a two-hour traffic jam, which was later cleared by the traffic police. James was transporting coal from Maharashtra to Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, while Prakash was heading towards Khammam with a load of potatoes.

Officials from the Maripeda fire station said they received a distress call around 8 am. “The front portions of both vehicles were badly damaged. We suspect the crash may have caused a short circuit in the radiator, triggering the fire. Both the drivers had died on the spot,” Md Yakuthpasha, an official from Maripeda fire station, said.

Officials had a tough time bringing the blaze under control. “We had to call personnel from the Kusumanchi fire station due to the intensity of the fire. It took us nearly three hours to control the flames,” Yakuthpasha said. The impact of the collision crushed the cabin of Prakash’s lorry, causing severe injuries to the cleaner seated beside him before he managed to jump out. The total loss is estimated to be around Rs 50 lakh.

The cleaner inside Prakash’s vehicle, Srikanth Singh (45) from Uttar Pradesh, lodged a complaint with the Thirumalayapalem police. “In his complaint, he alleged that James was driving on the wrong side of the divider-less stretch in a rash and negligent manner, which led to the crash. However, the exact cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained. We have registered a case against the deceased, James,” an official said.

A case has been registered under Section 106(1) and 125A of the BNS. The bodies of the deceased have been shifted to the mortuary for postmortem examination. Further investigation into the incident is underway.