Death toll in Ganesha procession accident in Karnataka's Hassan goes up to nine; 21 injured

A truck ploughed into a crowd participating in a procession at Mosale Hosahalli in Hassan district; bodies of the victims handed over to relatives after postmortem

Mysuru: The death toll in the accident involving a truck during the Ganesha idol procession at Mosale Hosahalli in Hassan district on Friday night has gone up to nine.

The truck ploughed into a crowd participating in the procession on National Highway 373 in the village between 8 pm and 8.30 pm on Friday.

It is said that the truck driver made a futile bid to avoid hitting a two-wheeler and lost control of the vehicle. The truck then ran over the median and ploughed into a crowd on the other lane of the road.

In all, 21 people were injured in the accident. Nineteen of them are admitted to the Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences (HIMS) hospital. Among them, 18 are said to be stable and are being treated in the ward. One has undergone surgery for a rib fracture. Two people are in the ICU of a private hospital and are reportedly stable.

A team of doctors led by the Hassan district health officer are monitoring the health of the injured, said Hassan district in-charge Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Saturday.

The bodies of the victims were handed over to relatives after the postmortem on Friday night, the Minister said.

Heart-wrenching scenes of families grieving the loss of their loved ones were witnessed at HIMS and at their residences.

Among the deceased, eight were aged between 17 and 25.

They deceased were identified as Praveen Kumar (21) of Nagalakere in Ballari district, Mithun (23) of Gavirangapura in Hosadurga taluk of Chitradurga district, Rajesh (17) of K B Palya in Holenarsipur taluk of Hassan district, Kumar (25) and Praveen (25) of Kabbinahalli in Holenarsipur taluk, Eshwar (17) of Danakanayakanahalli Koppalu in Hassan taluk, Gokul (17) of Mutthige Hirihalli in Hassan taluk, Suresh (22) of Maneenahalli Marle in Hassan taluk; and Prabhakar (52) of Bantarahalli in Hassan taluk.

Most of the victims and the injured were reportedly students of the Government Engineering College at Mosale Hosahalli. Many students staying in the college's hostel had come out for dinner and had joined the procession when the incident occurred.

Ex gratia payment announced

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condoled the loss of lives in the accident and announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh from the PMNRF for the next of kin of each of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Minister Krishna Byre Gowda have also condoled the loss of lives in the accident. The Chief Minister has announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh each to the family of the deceased under the Chief Minister's Relief Fund. The medical expenses of the injured will be borne by the government, Siddaramaiah said in a post on X.

Krishna Byre Gowda is scheduled to hold a meeting of officials in Hassan and later visit the injured and families of the deceased.

Hassan MP Shreyas M Patel, MLA Swaroop Prakash, JD(S) youth wing State president Nikhil Kumaraswamy, BJP leader C T Ravi and several other political leaders visited the injured and the families of the deceased.