Visakhapatnam, Dec 12 || Nine pilgrims died, and 23 others were injured when a private travel bus fell into a gorge in Alluri Sitharamaraju district in the early hours of Friday.
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.