Two accidents claim 13 lives in State

Thirteen people were killed and as many as 82 were injured in two separate accidents in Mandya and Hubli on Thursday.

Nine people, including two children, died and 51 sustained injuries in a collision between a KSRTC bus and a tempo near Chinakurali in Pandavapura taluk in Mandya district on Thursday.

The victims were identified as Dodda Cheluvaiah and his brother Chikka Cheluvaiah, his wife Puttamma, Kumar, his four-year-old-son Rohit, his three-year-old cousin Roshan, their relatives Appuswamy (60) and Jyothi.

The tempo driver is yet to be identified. Barring Appuswamy and Jyothi, the remaining were residents of first cross, Kailasapuram in Mandi Mohalla, Mysore.

The families were headed towards Kundanahalli in KR Pet, Mandya, to finalise the marriage alliance of Chikka Cheluvaiah and Puttamma’s son Shankar.

Shankar was travelling in another vehicle, while his parents and relatives followed in the tempo. Near Chinnakurali, a KSRTC bus bound for Mysore rammed into the tempo killing four on the spot, while the remaining succumbed to injuries in the hospital.

Those severely injured were rushed to KR Hospital in Mysore and to Pandavapura Government Hospital.

Tempo-lorry collision

In another accident near Yamnur in Navalgund taluk, four persons were killed and 31 people were injured in a head-on collision between a tempo and a lorry.

The victims, all residents of Byahatti in Hubli taluk, were returning from a wedding at Shanwad village in Navalgund taluk when the accident took place.

Tempo driver Prabhakar S Shirahatti, 36, and Girijadevi Hiremath, 55, were killed on the spot, while Murugevva Bengeri, 50, and Renuka G Samshi, 48, breathed their last at the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) in Hubli.

Among the 31 injured being treated at the KIMS, the condition of about five of them is said to be critical.

A case has been registered at the Navalgund police station and lorry driver Nagaraj Malagi was arrested.