Visakhapatnam, Dec 12: Nine pilgrims died and 23 others were injured early Friday when a private travel bus veered off the road and plunged into a gorge in Andhra Pradesh's Alluri Sitharamaraju district, marking a tragic start to the day for the group of devotees.

The accident occurred on the Chintur-Naredumilli ghat road when the driver apparently failed to negotiate a sharp turn and hit the safety wall before it fell into the gorge.

The bus carrying 37 people, including two drivers, was heading to Bhadrachalam. The passengers were all from the Chittoor district who were on their way to the Bhadrachalam temple in Telangana from Araku.

The victims were on a pilgrimage tour to various temples in north Andhra and neighbouring Telangana.

As there was no mobile phone network coverage in the area where the accident occurred, it took some time for the information to reach the police.

Police rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation. Nine bodies were recovered from the accident spot. The injured were shifted to a hospital in Chintur. The condition of five of the injured was stated to be critical, and they were shifted to a hospital at Bhadrachalam.

Five police vehicles and three ambulances were pressed into service to shift the injured.

Police suspect that poor visibility due to dense fog in the region may have led to the tragedy. The driver was not familiar with the roads in the region, and officials believe that he could not control the vehicle at the curve.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed shock over the accident. He spoke to officials about the rescue and relief operations. He directed them to ensure the best treatment for the injured.

Home Minister V Anitha and Tribal Welfare and Women and Child Welfare Minister G. Sandhya Rani left for the accident site. They spoke to the Collector and Superintendent of Police of Alluri Sitharamaraju district and directed them to ensure all help to the victims.

Voicing concern over increasing road accidents, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had last month ordered third-party auditing on road accidents to know the causes.

Addressing the Road Safety Council meeting, the Chief Minister had expressed concern over the deaths of 6,433 people in 15,462 road accidents in the state so far this year.

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According to officials, 79 per cent of accidents occur due to over-speeding, three per cent due to wrong-side driving, and one per cent due to alcohol and mobile phones. Andhra Pradesh stands in eighth place in road accidents in the country.

(IANS)