Karnataka: Nine from same family killed in fiery head-on crash with bus

Nine members of a single family were killed after a car allegedly collided head-on with a private bus and caught fire in Surpur taluk of Karnataka on Friday, police said.

The accident took place near Shantapura Cross in Surpur taluk.

The deceased have been identified as Krishna Nayak (52) and his wife Anantha Kala (45); Sharanappa (36) and his wife Nisarga (30); their children Siddhartha (3), Advik (5) and Srinidhi (1.5); and Shashikala (30) along with her son Chandan (8), police said.

Shashikala’s other son, Virat (10), survived the crash and is undergoing treatment, officials added.

According to superintendent of police Pruthvik Shankar, preliminary investigation and eyewitness accounts suggest that the Compact Utility Vehicle (CUV) suffered a tyre burst, causing the driver to lose control and collide head-on with the bus. The car subsequently caught fire, resulting in the deaths of nine occupants.

Ten people, including five children, were travelling in the car at the time of the accident. Four occupants, two of them children, were burnt alive at the scene, police said.

All the injured were rushed to the Yadgiri Institute of Medical Sciences, where nine were declared dead. The lone survivor, Virat, continues to receive treatment.

The force of the collision was such that both the car and the bus were completely gutted by fire. Fire and emergency services personnel reached the spot and brought the blaze under control.

Police said the family hailed from Sirwar taluk in Raichur district. The vehicle was reportedly travelling from Yadgir towards Raichur, while the bus was en route from Bengaluru to Kalaburagi.

All 20 passengers on board the bus were rescued safely. Further investigation is underway, police said.

With pti inputs