Anita, one of the survivors in the crash, at a hospital

Hyderabad, Jan. 7: Sixteen persons, mostly students, were killed today when their bus fell into a gorge in Andhra Pradesh with some survivors blaming high speed and a bid to avert a collision with an auto on the cratered road.

Over 33 people were injured when the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transportation Corporation bus with over 50 passengers careened off the hilly road and plunged 80 meters into the gorge near Penukonda on the Karnataka border, around 427km from Hyderabad.

Police said while 14 persons died on the spot, two succumbed to their injuries in hospitals in Penukonda, nearby Hindupur and Bangalore, around 120km away. “The condition of at least seven of the injured persons is serious,” said a doctor at the Hindupur hospital.

Some of the passengers said the bus, a daily service for students and office-goers, was running a little late and the driver was going too fast on the road, a flank of which had been closed for repairs.

The passengers alleged that they had pleaded with driver to slow down but he did not pay heed and drove over the edge in a bid to avoid hitting the oncoming auto.

“The conductor of the bus asked the driver, Gangappa, not to drive so fast but he did not listen. The driver shouted back saying he was doing extra duty for someone else,” said Anita, a 17-year-old intermediate student who was among the few to escape with minor injuries.

Another student, Padma, saw a relative and two of her friends die in the 7.45am crash. “The bus first dangled off the cliff and then fell into the gorge,” the 16-year-old said.

Another passenger said some in the bus had to take other connections, such as to Hindupur, from Penukonda. “As the bus was late and some of the passengers had to take connecting buses from Penukonda, the driver was in a hurry.”

Maruti, the driver of a truck behind the bus, said he was surprised at the way the vehicle swerved off the road. “We were behind the bus and saw it turn towards the gorge and fall into it. I wondered why he (the bus driver) turned right towards the gorge when he should have stayed to the left.”

Chief minister Chandrababu Naidu has announced a judicial probe and a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each for the families of the dead and Rs 50,000 for the injured.

Transport department officials said the bus had a valid fitness certificate but one of them claimed driver had a chequered record. “The same driver was involved in an accident a few years ago when he drove a bus into a pond near Hindupur,” the official said.

Eranna, the ruling Telugu Desam MLA of Madakasira from where the bus had originated this morning, blamed the transport corporation authorities. “When the authorities knew that there was repair work underway on the road, why did they not change the route? I am also told that the corporation has reduced the number of trips, forcing many students to travel on the top of buses.”