15 killed in bus-MUV crash in Andhra (Lead)

Amaravati, May 11 (IANS) As many as 15 people were killed and three others injured when a speeding bus crashed into a multi-utility vehicle (MUV) on the Hyderabad-Bengaluru national highway near Veldurthi in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday, police said.The bus, on its way from Hyderabad to Bengaluru, collided with the vehicle coming from the opposite direction.According to the police, to save a two-wheeler rider the bus driver hit the road divider and crashed into the MUV in the opposite lane. The victims hailed from the Jogulamba Gadwal district of Telangana and were returning to their village after attending an engagement ceremony.While 13 people died on the spot, two succumbed at a hospital.Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao expressed shock over the loss of lives in the accident. He asked the district collector to ensure proper treatment to the injured admitted in Kurnool hospital.Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and YSR Congress Party president Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy also expressed grief over the accident.
--IANS ms/prs