Nine people died and five others were critically injured when the auto in which they were travelling collided with an APSRTC bus.
The incident occurred during the wee hours of Sunday in Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool district.
According to police, the auto, which was on its way to Mahanandi carrying 13 people from Penugondla and Kalapari villages, was on the wrong route on the Kurnool-Nandyal main road.
The driver made a last-minute effort to avoid the collision with the incoming bus, but failed and the auto catapulted and fell on the side of the road.
Two other autos that had also started from the same spot to Mahanandi escaped the collision.
Seven passengers died while two more succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment at the Kurnool government hospital.
Survivors said that all the passengers were on the way to Mahanandi to seek herbal medicine for their eye problem.
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