Visakhapatnam, Dec 12 : At least eight pilgrims died and several others were injured when a private travel bus fell into a gorge in Andhra Pradesh's 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 Annavaram.

The passengers were all from the Chittoor district who were on their way to Annavaram temple in Kakinada district after visiting Bhadrachalam temple in 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 at Mothugunta.

Police rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation. Eight bodies were recovered from the place. The injured were shifted to a hospital in Chintur.

Five police vehicles and three ambulances were pressed into service to shift the injured.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu expressed shock over the accident. He spoke to officials about the rescue and relief operations. He directed them to ensure the best treatment for the injured.

Home Minister V. Anitha and Tribal Welfare and Women and Child Welfare Minister G. Sandhya Rani left for the accident site. They spoke to the Collector and Superintendent of Police of Alluri Sitharamaraju district and directed them to ensure all help to the victims.

Voicing concern over increasing road accidents, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had last month ordered third-party auditing on road accidents to know the causes.

Addressing the Road Safety Council meeting, the Chief Minister had expressed concern over the deaths of 6,433 people in 15,462 road accidents in the state so far this year.

According to officials, 79 per cent of accidents occur due to over-speeding, three per cent due to wrong-side driving, and one per cent due to alcohol and mobile phones.

Andhra Pradesh stands in eighth place in road accidents in the country.

/IANS