Seventeen farm labourers, mostly women, were injured, three of them severely, after the auto trolley carrying them to a chilli field turned upside down at Bajjathanda in Karepally mandal on Thursday.
The incident occurred when the driver of the overcrowded auto lost control of the vehicle while attempting to avoid a crash with a vehicle at a sharp curve on the Yellandu-Karepally road near Bajjathanda in the morning.
The farm labourers, hailing from Yellandu, were on way to Thallagudem village where they were to harvest chilli on a farm.
Three women farm labourers suffered head injuries and the remaining occupants of the auto received minor injuries in the accident, sources said.
The driver of the vehicle, who sustained bruises, tried to escape from the spot, but was caught by passersby, sources added.
The three grievously injured workers were shifted to a hospital in Khammam.
A case was registered against the driver by the Karepalli police.
