Five people were killed, while three were grievously injured in a head-on collision between a lorry and a tanker transporting LPG on the Bangalore-Mangalore National Highway-48 near Singapur of Alur taluk in the district on Sunday evening.
The tanker - heading towards Hassan from Mangalore - rammed into a lorry on its way to Palya from Hassan, killing four people, including the drivers, on the spot. One person died at the hospital.
The dead are Madhu (hailing from Gendehalli in Palya), Annaji, Swami, Girish and Jayagopal, driver of the tanker from Tamil Nadu.
The injured - Anand, Sridhar and Dasharath (all residents of Palya) - are receiving treatment at the district hospital.
Traffic was disrupted for more than two hours on NH-48 following the accident.
However, there was no leakage of gas from the tanker. The police ensured that the tanker filled with gas was transported to a safe place.
