Most passengers in Chitradurga bus accident were bound for Gokarna holiday
BENGALURU: Twenty-five of the 33 passengers of the ill-fated bus from Bengaluru, which caught fire after an accident in Chitradurga, were going to Gokarna, a popular tourist destination.
A group of seven people was supposed to attend a pre-wedding party in Gokarna. One of them is to get married in February. Five of them work with IT companies. Manjunath, bride-to-be Kavitha, Dileep, Sandhya, Shashank, Bindu and her eight-year-old daughter Griya, all residents of Mavalli and Binnypet, left Bengaluru around 7.30 pm on Wednesday.
Except Manjunath, the rest are cousins. While Manjunath has been admitted in Victoria Hospital’s burns ward, Shashank and Sandhya are being treated in a private hospital in the city.
“My brother suffered third degree burns and is now under observation. He was shifted to hospital by his friend Dileep. The whereabouts of Dileep’s sister Bindu and her daughter are not known. Due to the impact of the collision, the windshield broke and my brother and his friends jumped off the bus,” Manjunath’s brother Deepak told reporters.
Kavitha’s father Kantharaju said, “I got to know about the accident around 3 am. My daughter jumped out of the burning bus and hurt her back. She is not in a position to speak now.”
Siddaraju, father of Gagana, who suffered injuries in the accident, said, “My daughter woke up after hearing the loud noise. She jumped out of the bus soon after the collision. I went to the spot and brought her home.”
Isha’s mother Nalini said that her daughter and her friends managed to escape the blaze after jumping out of a broken window.
Hemaraj Kumar, a software engineer, said he along with his wife and son were going to Gokarna. “The bus caught fire after the collision. We could not breathe properly because of the thick smoke. We managed to get out of the bus through a broken window. A passerby shifted us to a hospital in TumakuruFor almost 45 minutes after the accident, no help came from police or fire force personnel. This could be due to the traffic jam.”
Ornaments HELP Parents identify bodies
Hassan: Two software engineers from Channarayapatna taluk in Hassan district were among the six victims of the accident. HC Manasa (27) from Channarayapatna town and AM Navya (26) from Ankanahalli, were going on a holiday to Gokarna. They were friends and were working at different companies in Bengaluru. Their parents identified the bodies based on the ornaments they were wearing. Manasa’s engagement had taken place three months ago while Navya was engaged more recently, sources added.