A scream — then silence. That was all passengers aboard the Hyderabad-bound RTC bus remembered before a dumper truck, laden with gravel, rammed into them near Chevella early on Monday. Within seconds, the bus lay crushed beneath a mountain of stone and steel, trapping dozens inside.

By the time rescuers reached the site on the Hyderabad–Bijapur Road, at least 19 people were dead and over two dozen injured. Many were trapped — some buried up to their necks — as frantic cries for help echoed under the wreckage.

“We couldn’t move or breathe properly”

R. Venkataiah, 55, a head constable from Vikarabad, was among the survivors pulled out nearly an hour later. Speaking from his hospital bed, his voice trembled as he recalled the moment of impact.

“It felt like the whole world had collapsed on us. We couldn’t move or breathe properly. We screamed for help, but no one could reach us for so long,” he said.

The truck, loaded with gravel, had crashed head-on into the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) bus around 5.30 am, ripping open its right side and spilling tonnes of stone into the vehicle.

A journey turned nightmare

C. Sri Sai, a 27-year-old government school teacher from Chevella, had boarded the bus at dawn. “I sat in the last row. About an hour later, there was a huge crash — the entire bus shook, people screamed, and within moments everything went dark and dusty,” she said, her leg bandaged in hospital.

Her family rushed from Tandur after hearing of the accident. “It took nearly 30 minutes before rescuers managed to pull us out,” she recalled.

“They were buried alive”

Those seated behind the driver bore the worst of the impact. “They were instantly buried under the gravel — I could only hear muffled cries,” said Abdul Razak, 38, another survivor whose hands still shook as he spoke.

Mohammed Yunus, a businessman from Tandur, escaped with bruises. “I was standing in the middle of the bus. When the lorry hit, I fell sideways, and the gravel started pouring in. I thought I would die,” he said. “Because I wasn’t sitting, I managed to wriggle out through a broken window.”

Others weren’t as fortunate. Many passengers were pinned down, gasping for air under the weight of the stones. “We were buried up to our necks. It was impossible to move. We could hear people groaning in pain,” another survivor recounted.

A rescue under the rising sun

When police, locals, and emergency workers finally reached the mangled bus, the morning sun was already high. What they found inside was devastation beyond words — bodies crushed, twisted seats, and scattered belongings amid a heap of gravel.

Dozens of injured passengers were taken to nearby hospitals in Chevella and Vikarabad. Police said preliminary investigation suggests the truck driver was speeding and lost control, ploughing into the bus from the opposite direction.

Probe underway

Authorities are examining CCTV footage and the driver’s background. Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy expressed condolences and announced ex gratia compensation for the victims’ families.