Mysuru: In a tragic road accident early this morning, two people died and 14 others were injured when a private bus collided head-on with a cement-laden lorry near Madhugiri Koppalu Gate in Hunsur taluk.

The accident occurred around 4.30 am on the Mysuru-Hunsur Highway near Jagalakuppe on the Hunsur-Bannikuppe stretch. A Kerala-based private bus travelling from Kozhikode to Bengaluru crashed into a lorry heading toward Hunsur from Mysuru.

Preliminary reports indicate the collision was triggered when the lorry swerved to the right to avoid a fallen tree and poor visibility early in the morning prevented the bus driver from seeing the approaching vehicle. Bus driver Shamshuddin and cleaner Dinesh died on the spot after being thrown from the bus and crushed by falling cement bags.

Fourteen passengers sustained injuries and were rushed to nearby medical facilities and K.R. Hospital in Mysuru. According to the injured, the bus driver was speeding and attempted a sudden right manoeuvre to avoid the tree, resulting in a head-on collision with the lorry.

Traffic on the Highway was disrupted until 8 am as emergency teams worked to clear the wreckage and scattered cement bags, assisted by an earth moving machine.

Hunsur Rural Inspector Muniyappa, on night rounds at Gurupura, coordinated the immediate rescue and shifting  the injured in Police jeeps. Additional staff and vehicles were called from Yelwal and Bilikere to assist, while SI Lakshmamma managed traffic during the clearance operation.

A case has been registered at Bilikere Police Station and investigations into the accident are underway.