One killed, 17 injured as goods vehicle turns turtle

One woman was killed and 17 others were injured when their goods vehicle toppled near Sadenahalli on Saturday. The vehicle had been travelling from Ketanahalli to Manchanabale.

Most of the victims are manual workers from Guntappanahalli or Honnenahalli. Munilakshmamma, 30, a resident of Guntappanahalli, died instantly. The remaining 17 victims were admitted to the district hospital for treatment. Five seriously-injured individuals have been moved to Bangalore for further treatment, said police.

High-speed, heavy-weight

The incident happened after manual workers from two villages travelled to Ketanahalli in a goods vehicle, to transport a load of scrap to Manchanabale. Because of the load, they were cramped into the small vehicle.

When the driver, who was speeding, attempted to turn near Sadenahalli Gate, the vehicle toppled into a ditch by the side of the road.

Relatives of the victims rushed to the hospital. Many begged hospital staff and doctors to hurry with treatment. Dr I S Rao told Deccan Herald most of the workers had suffered head injuries. “Two workers have suffered spinal injuries; others are injured in the waist, neck and other parts of the body,” he said.

Aside from Rao, Drs Diwakar, Jagadish, Narayana and Rajalakshmi, and two medical staff members attended to the injured.

Poor facilities

The lack of facilities at the district hospital was visible, despite the fervour of doctors attending to the wounded. The doctors, on learning that a large number of accident victims were being brought to the hospital, had prepared emergency treatment. But a lack of stretchers, forced many victims to be carried into the hopsital by concerned citizens and relatives.

“We had expected the district hospital to at least have basic facilities, but we were disappointed,” said Rajashekhar, a relative of an injured worker. “The stretchers are in bad condition and have not been replaced. We hope the district administration and hospital administration board will take action on the matter.”

He also complained that the hospital’s emergency treatment room is small and congested. “It would be impossible to treat 30 to 50 patients simultaneously in such a small room. The doctors and medical staff have to move the patients around with difficulty. The hospital desperately needs a bigger room to treat the patients easier and better,” he added.

Injured workers

Many of the injured workers were women. The wounded include:
One-year old Giridhar; Deepa, 19; Sriram, 14; Bhagyalakshmi, 32; Gangamma, 60; Vishwanath, 18; Venkatesh, 30; Kavitha, 18; Sheshamma, 28; Divya, 18; Shailaja, 16; Krishnamma, 45; Lakshmamma, 40; Dasamma, 60; Ramanjiamma, 30; Pavithra, 18; Muniyamma, 45; Lokesh, 19; Lakshmi, 25; Geethamma, 35; Narayanamma, 45; Lakshmamma, 36, and Mohan, 23.