8 dead, 24 injured as truck rams bus on Hubballi outskirts in wee hours

HUBBALLI: Eight people died and 24 were injured, some of them seriously, when a rice-laden truck collided head-on with a private bus while overtaking a tractor. The incident occurred on the Gabbur-Tarihal bypass road on the outskirts of Hubballi around 1 am on Tuesday.

The bus was coming from Kolhapur to Bengaluru while the truck was heading towards Dharwad. The bus passengers were asleep when they were rudely awakened by the sound of the crash. While six, including the bus driver, died on the spot, two died in hospital. All the deceased hailed from Kolhapur. The injured are being treated at KIMS, Hubballi.

KIMS director Ramalingappa said 20 people are being treated and the condition of 5-6 people is serious. Some of the injured were shifted to Kolhapur on their own accord.

Among the dead is Mohammed, who was travelling to Mysuru from his uncle’s house in Kolhapur for admission into a PU course. He had scored 450 marks in the SSLC exam.

An injured passenger being shifted to hospital.

In an heart-rending scence, one-and-half-year-old Mahendra, who miraculously survived without a scratch, was wailing on seeing his injured mother Jyothi. Despite her injuries, the woman was seen consoling the boy even as she got into an ambulance.

City police commissioner Labhu Ram visited the accident spot. The traffic police have registered a case.