Five people, including four engineers, were killed when a car and a tractor collided head-on on National Highway-4 near Nelahal in Kora hobli of the taluk on Monday night.
The deceased are Pramod, 23, a resident of Kumta in Uttara Kannada district; Ashwin, 22, from Ankola in the same district; Harish, 21, from Holenarsipur in Hassan district; Manoj, 24, from Bengaluru (travelling by car) and Chikkanna, 41, of Havinamadagu village in Madhugiri taluk of Tumakuru district.
Those travelling in the car were all employed as engineers in Quest Global company in Bengaluru and were returning to the City after attending the wedding of a friend in Koppal.
The tractor driver was taking a right turn, after unloading a consignment of wood, when the accident occurred.
While Manoj and Harish died on the spot, Chikkanna, Ashwin and Pramod - who were seriously injured - breathed their last in the hospital.
The other passengers in the tractor, Srirangappa, Nagaraju and Madhu Obalappa, are battling for their life at a hospital in Bengaluru.
The Kora police have registered a case.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks