Bengaluru: Seven people, including three Keralites, were killed when a speeding Volvo bus fell into a dry culvert in Karnataka's Hassan district Saturday. About 38 people also suffered injuries in the incident.
The deceased Keralties were Biju, 26; Soniya, 27, and TD Diana, 23. The three, part of a family, were settled in Belthangady in Karnataka. Sonia's husband Vinu has been admitted to a private hospital in Mangaluru with critical injuries.
Sonia and Vinu were working in Bengaluru. Bijo was also working in a private firm in Bengaluru, while Diana was a student of St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences in Bengaluru.
The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus was going from Bengaluru to Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada district on the west coast, about 320km away.
Of the 44 passengers, the 38 injured passengers were rushed to a state-run hospital at Hassan for treatment after they were extricated from the mangled bus.
"Though the cause of the accident is under investigation, a few passengers onboard the bus said the bus hit the railings after the driver lost its control when he dozed off at the wheel," an official said.
The other male victims were conductor Shivappa Chalavadi, 45; driver Laxman, 50; Rajesh Prabhu, 26; and Gangadhar, 55.
A case has been registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the KSRTC and the bus company.
Karnataka transport minister HM Revanna expressed shock over the accident and announced Rs 3 lakh compensation to the kin of all the deceased.
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