Vijaywada: The private Volvo bus with 44 people on board fell into a canal after hitting a divider on National Highway-64 in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday.
11 people died and 30 others were injured in the mishap.
While nine people, including driver Adinarayana Reddy, were killed on the spot, one passenger died in a hospital at Nandigama while another died while being taken to Vijayawada.
As per the Police reports, the bus was on its way to Hyderabad from Bhubaneswar when the mishap occurred between two culverts on the highway and the passengers were fast asleep at the time of the accident.
The incident happened at 5.30 AM in the morning, after bus driver, Adinarayana Reddy, fell asleep while driving and crashed the vehicle into a road divider following which the bus fell into a culvert under the bridge.
Locals rushed to the spot and rescued the injured and alerted the Nandigama police.
Deputy Transport Commissioner E Meera Prasad said that the bus was at a speed of around 110 kmph at NH 16 and crashed against a 3-ft high wall before tumbling down 22-ft below the bridge.
Transport Minister Sidda Raghava Rao has ordered an inquiry into the mishap.
Police have registered a case against Diwakar Travels and sent the dead bodies for post mortem. The investigation is presently underway.