At least nine people were killed and 21 injured on National Highway 48 at Gorlathu Cross in Hiriyur taluk of Karnataka’s Chitradurga district, after a private sleeper coach collided with a lorry and burst into flames, the police said on Thursday.
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HT earlier reported that the crash occurred when a lorry travelling from Hiriyur toward Bengaluru crossed the central divider and rammed into a bus coming from the opposite direction, which was heading from Bengaluru to Shivamogga. The impact caused the sleeper coach to catch fire in the middle of the highway with several passengers trapped inside.
The bus carrying 32 passengers engulfed in flames under the impact of the collision and most of the deceased were burnt alive inside the vehicle, East Zone Inspector General of Police Ravikanthe Gowda was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
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Several visuals from the accident site showed the magnitude of the accident in which the bus was mangled and charred.
Bus up in flames
One video showed raging flames and smoke billowing from the site of accident as emergency services work to douse the flames. The video taken after the blaze is controlled shows smoke rising from the charred remains of the bus.
Dead bodies on road
Dead bodies in body bags lay around the site of accident on Thursday morning as emergency workers retrieved dead bodies from the mangled remains of the bus that hit the lorry and went up in flames on National Highway 48. Police said the official figure of casualties will be available after an audit. Several who managed to escape suffered serious injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Charred, mangled remains of the bus
Authorities and emergency teams were carrying out recovery operations as the charred bus was being cleared from the roadway on Thursday morning. The visuals showed cranes at the site to tow away the damaged vehicles.
While preliminary findings point to lorry driver’s negligence, police said the force of the collision and the resulting fire left the bus completely gutted, complicating rescue efforts at the scene. The bus driver and cleaner escaped the mishap, while the driver of the truck is among those who died.
Chitradurga superintendent of police Ranjith visited the site and is overseeing the investigation. A case has been registered at the Hiriyur Rural Police Station, and further inquiries are under way to determine the exact sequence of events that led to the accident.
Expressing sadness over the loss of lives in the Chitradurga accident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced an ex-gratia relief of ₹2 lakh for the kin of the dead, while ₹50,000 will be given to those injured in the accident. “Deeply saddened by the loss of lives due to a mishap in the Chitradurga district of Karnataka. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. May those injured recover at the earliest,” PM said.
