10 die, 20 injured in accident

Ten people were killed and more than 20 were injured when the Tempo Traveller in which they were travelling fell into a ditch at Basavanabetta of Basavanahalli village near Halagur in Mandya district on Thursday afternoon.

Bhagyamma, 55, Roopa, 35, Surabhi, 5, all from Halagur; Prema, 75, of Talkadu village and H B Basavaraju, 72, of Chamarajnagar died on the spot. Susheelamma, 60, of Halagur died while taken to hospital. 

Honnappa, 70, Shwetha, 28, Lakshmamma, 30 and Mahadeva, 36, of Halagur died at the district hospital in Mandya. The injured have been admitted to the Malavalli hospital and the district hospital in Mandya. 

The incident occurred when they were returning to Halagur after a pooja at the Basaveshwaraswamy temple at Basavanabetta. 

Faulty drivingIt is said the driver of the vanwas driving the vehicle without switching gears. The vehicle hit the protecting wall of the narrow, steep road before falling into the ditch. The driver fled the spot soon after the accident. A case has been registered at the Halagur police station. MLA P M Narendra- swamy, SP Koushalendra Kumar, tahsildar B Vani and others visited the spot.