SUV runs into devotees having tea on NH 16 in Andhra Pradesh, four killed

Four Bhavani devotees from Vizianagaram district were killed and three others injured when an SUV hit them at a roadside tea stop on NH 16 in Kakinada district. They were travelling to Vijayawada to visit the Kanaka Durga temple

Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh): Four Bhavani devotees were killed and three others injured when an SUV hit them while they were having tea by the roadside on NH 16 in Kakinada district on Thursday, a police official said.

The devotees, from Denkada village in Vizianagaram district, were travelling to Vijayawada to visit the Kanaka Durga temple when they stopped their bus at Ravikimpadu Centre near Kattipudi junction around 5.40 am, the official told PTI.

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They were wearing Bhavani malas — sacred garlands worn by devotees observing a religious vow dedicated to Goddess Bhavani, often as part of a pilgrimage to the Kanaka Durga temple — and had alighted from their bus to have tea when the SUV, travelling from Visakhapatnam towards Rajahmundry, hit them. Three died on the spot, while another person died on the way to hospital, the official added.

The injured included a parcel van driver and a travel bus cleaner, who were shifted to a hospital for treatment, he said. The SUV driver, who was also wearing a Bhavani mala, was travelling towards Vijayawada, police said.