Four persons, including a pregnant woman, were killed and 28 injured when a bus carrying them rammed into a road divider near here today, police said.

The accident occured at 5.30 am when the Volvo bus, carrying 52 persons from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, crashed into the divider at Hosakote, police said.
The bus was on its way to Bangalore.

The driver lost control of the bus and rammed the divider as he tried to avoid running over a dog, police said.

Some injured have been admitted to a hospital at Hosakote while five others, whose condition was stated to be critical, were admitted to a hospital here, police said.

The deceased have been identified as Anusha (26), five-month pregnant woman, Manas Kumar (6), Vijay Kumar (30) and Prasad Chinnaiah (35), police said.

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy announced Rs one lakh compensation for the next of kin of the deceased, police said.

In November last, 45 people perished in Andhra Pradesh's Mahabubnagar district when a Volvo bus from Bangalore to Hyderabad hit the median on the National Highway and caught fire.

In a similar mishap the same month, seven persons were charred to death and 40 people injured as a Mumbai-bound Volvo bus from Bangalore hit a road median near Haveri in Karnataka and caught fire.