Eight killed, 24 injured in bus-truck collision near Karnataka's Hubballi

HUBBALLI: In a head-on collision between a private bus and a loaded truck, eight people were killed and 26 people suffered injuries on NH-48 near Hubballi on Monday midnight. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has mourned by tweeting and announcing ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the deceased family each.

The bus was heading to Bengaluru from Ichalkaranji in Kolhapur district in Maharashtra. When the bus was near Hubballi, in an attempt to overtake a tractor, the bus collided with a truck that was heading towards Dharwad from Hubballi on the two-lane national highway.

Six people were killed on the spot and two more died at KIMS hospital in Hubballi. Saddened by the accident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted "Pained by the loss of lives due to a mishap in Hubballi. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon."

He also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) to the next of kin of those who lost their lives and the injured would be given Rs 50,000.

According to the police, the deceased persons have been identified as Nagaraj B (65) of Bengaluru, Babusa Chougule (59) of Kolhapur, Atul Khan (50) of Nagamangala, Mohammed Dayal Baig (16) of Mysuru, Akshay Chakati (30) of Ahmednagar, Aqeef Ayub (24), Mohammed Aksan Khadirkhan (24) and Mastan (40) of Biswan in Uttar Pradesh.

Soon after the incident, Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) staff rushed to the spot along with the ambulances. All injured were shifted to KIMS hospital for treatment. One of the injured persons continues to remain is in trauma and others suffered spinal cord, head, leg, and cervical injury injuries.

KIMS director Dr Ramalingappa Antartani said, "About 15 patients who suffered spinal cord, leg and other injuries have now been shifted to various hospitals in Kolhapur and Pune. This has been done against our medical advisory as some of the injured were not in a condition to move. However, other patients are being treated here at KIMS."

An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of those who lost their lives due to the mishap in Hubli. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000: PM @narendramodi

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) May 24, 2022

After the accident the traffic on the bypass road was affected for more than one hour and the police cleared mangled remains using heavy machinery. Top cops including Addl DGP (Road Safety) R Hitendra, Hubballi-Dharwad police commissioner Labhu Ram and others visited the accident site.

On May 21, nine people had died in an accident near Bada village of Dharwad taluk. The speeding Tempo-Trax turned turtle after hitting a tree. Seven were killed on the spot and two had died in KIMS hospital. Several people were injured and they are still taking treatment in Hubballi and Dharwad hospitals. 

The social activists have once again demanded early widening of Hubballi-Dharwad bypass road which is the only stretch on the entire NH-48 that has only two lanes. The two-lane stretch has been causing accidents every passing year.