CHITRADURGA: After a three-day delay, the bodies of passengers charred in a bus-truck collision at Gorlathu Gate on the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway 48 were handed over to their relatives.
Following the arrival of the forensic report from the Hubballi FSL laboratory in the morning, the bodies were released to grieving family members. The truck driver’s body remains at the district hospital morgue, as his relatives have yet to come forward to claim it.
Police also returned jewellery worn by the deceased to their families.
In accordance with procedure, police had collected samples from relatives on Thursday and sent them to the Hubballi FSL for testing.
Darshan, on receiving the bodies of his wife Bindu and their five-year-old daughter Greya, broke down at the sight of their charred remains. He was inconsolable, comforted only by his relatives.
Accident details
Seven people died in the bus-truck accident. Six people were initially killed when a truck collided with a sleeper bus, causing a fire that engulfed both vehicles, near Gorlathu Cross in Hiriyur taluk of Chitradurga district, around 2 a.m. on Thursday. The container truck reportedly jumped a divider before ramming into the private bus, which was travelling from Bengaluru to Gokarna via Shivamogga.
The bus driver, Mohammed Rafiq (38), succumbed to his injuries at KIMS Hubballi the following day.
In total, five passengers from the bus and the truck driver, Kuldeep Yadav from Haryana, perished in the blaze. Twenty-eight others sustained injuries and were treated at government hospitals in Hiriyur, Sira, Tumakuru, and a private hospital in Sira. Three patients in serious condition were later shifted to Bengaluru for further treatment.
The deceased have been identified as Bindu (29) and her daughter Greya (5) from Girinagar, Bengaluru; Manasa (27) and Navya (26) from Channarayapattna; Rashmi Mahale (24) from Shirali, Bhatkal, Uttara Kannada; truck driver Kuldeep Yadav (29) from Kithauli, Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh; and bus driver Mohammed Rafiq (38) from Hulaguru village, Shiggavi taluk, Haveri district.