Nine tourists from Ballari killed as car rams into bus

• Mass funeral held at Ballari this afternoon amid pall of gloom
• Cab driver from Srirangapatna also killed totalling 10 deaths
• Five including a 4-year-old boy battling for life at K.R. Hospital
• Victims were returning from B.R. Hills to Mysuru when the
• tragedy struck near Kurbur village in T. Narasipur

T. Narasipur: In a ghastly road accident, 10 people including nine tourists from Ballari were killed on the spot, after the cab [Innova, a multi-utility vehicle (MUV)] they were travelling in rammed into a private bus coming from the opposite direction near Kurbur village in T. Narasipur taluk on Mysuru-Kollegal Highway yesterday afternoon.

The deceased, hailing from Sanganakallu in Ballari district, are identified as Manjunath (35), his wife Poornima (30), children Pavan (10) and Karthik (8),  Sandeep (24), his father Kotreshi (46) and mother Sujatha (40), Gayathri, wife of Janardhan, her daughter Shravya and Aditya, the cab driver from Srirangapatna in Mandya district.

The grievously injured five include three from Sanganakallu — Janardhan, 45 years, Shashikumar, 24 and four-year-old Puneeth — who were travelling in the cab and Bhanu, a seven-year-old girl from T. Narasipur and Gaurav, 7, son of Puttananja, Ganaganapura, Chamarajanagar, who were travelling in the private bus, who all are undergoing treatment at K.R. Hospital and Cheluvamba Hospital in Mysuru.

The three families, totalling 12 members, had come from Ballari to tour Mysuru and surrounding tourist spots, when death lurked at them. The families of both Manjunath and Sandeep have been wiped away in the accident, while Janardhan is battling for life at hospital, but has lost his wife and kid in the incident.

Summer vacation

As it was a summer vacation, they came from Ballari to Mysuru by train on May 27 and stayed at a lodge in the city. Following day (May 28), they visited tourist spots in Mysuru and surroundings and later hired a cab to visit Biligiriranganatha (BR) Hills in Chamarajanagar district. They were returning to the city yesterday from BR Hills and had even booked tickets for return journey by train at 5 pm to Ballari, when the tragedy struck.

On CCTV camera

According to the footage of CCTV camera installed in the dash board of the private bus that met with the accident, the driver of the cab driving in a reckless speed may have lost control over the steering at the curve near Pinjrapole in Kurbur village and rammed the vehicle into the bus coming from opposite direction. The cab was moving to its right on the wrong side and hit the bus, before turning towards its left. The bus driver also lost control and ploughed into the roadside, before coming to a screeching halt.

Heap of metal

The cab was reduced into a heap of metal, with the bodies of some of the deceased thrown onto the road. A body was found hanging from the cab door, while that of a few were trapped inside the vehicle. The passersby with the help of bus passengers rescued three injured persons including a four-year-old boy and rushed them to the District Hospital in Chamarajanagar where they were administered first-aid. They were shifted to K.R. Hospital in Mysuru later.

Barring Bhanu the bus passenger who sustained critical injuries in the mishap, the remaining passengers escaped with minor injuries.

SP, Addl. SP visit

Superintendent of Police (SP) Seema Latkar, Additional SP Dr. B. N. Nandini, Inspector Vishwanath of Talkad Police Station holding the additional charge of T. Narasipur Station and staff rushed to the spot.

Fire and Emergency Services Department personnel who also rushed to the spot removed the bodies from the cab by cutting some parts of the vehicle with a gas cutter. The medical personnel from Mysuru and T. Narasipur later shifted the bodies in ambulances to the mortuary attached to Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMC and RI).