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Eight persons were killed and 26 others suffered injuries when a private bus from Maharashtra hit a rice-laden truck on Hubballi-Dharwad Bypass (NH4) Road near Hubballi on May 23 midnight.
Police Commissioner Labhu Ram said that the accident occurred around Monday midnight near Revadihal on the bypass road close to the Tarihal Interchange in Hubballi. The injured were immediately taken to Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) and Hospital in Hubballi.
While six persons died on the spot, two succumbed to injuries in the hospital. As it was a long-distance bus, there were two drivers in the private bus. Both of them, and the driver of the truck died in the accident.
The names of the deceased are Nagaraj Achar, 56, and Ataulla Khan, 40, of Bengaluru, Babaso Chougale, 59, and Mastan of Ichalkaranji (Maharashtra), Mohammed Diyan Beg, 17, of Mysuru, Akshay Dawar, 28, Aqif, 40, and Afaq, 40, of Kolhapur (Maharashtra).
The mishap occurred around 11.45 on Monday night when the driver of the bus tried to overtake a tractor on the two-lane bypass road, lost control and hit the oncoming truck head-on. The private bus was heading to Bengaluru from Kolhapur in Maharashtra.
The truck fell over the tractor due to the impact of the collision. Fortunately, no one in the tractor was injured.
Majority of the injured passengers are from Maharashtra, and a few from Karnataka. Some among the injured were taken to Kolhapur for further treatment.
KIMS Hospital Director Dr. Ramalingappa Antaratani told mediapersons that 21 injured persons admitted to the hospital. Of these, 15 were taken Kolhapur by their family members to hospitals of their choice.
HDK tweets
Former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy expressed shock over the accident and prayed for speedy recovery of the injured persons.
Death trap
The Hubballi-Dharwad Bypass Road has often been in the news for the wrong reasons. A series of accidents have taken place on the narrow bypass road in which several persons have lost their lives, which made even the Supreme Court seek a report from the Karnataka Government.
In February 2021, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone for development of the 31-km long bypass road into a six-lane-highway-plus-four-lane service-road at an estimated cost of ₹1,050 crore. However, the work is yet to begin.
