At least 17 people were killed, including the lorry driver, after a private passenger bus caught fire after colliding with a truck in Chitradurga district of Karnataka in the early hours of Thursday, December 25. The accident took place on National Highway 48 near Gorlathu in Hiriyur taluk when the vehicle was travelling from Bengaluru to Gokarna via Shimoga.
The lorry was coming from Hiriyur and going to Bengaluru, hit the central divider after losing control and rammed into the bus head-on coming from the opposite side, resulting deaths of 17 people and several injuries. The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Initial investigation revealed that the accident was caused by the negligence of the lorry driver. The force of the bus and lorry collision was so severe that the bus was fully gutted in the blaze within minutes.
A case has been registered at the Hiriyur Rural Police Station, and further investigations are under way. Traffic con the busy of National Highway 48 was disrupted for several hours.
IGP Ravikanthe Gowda said the lorry was coming from the opposite direction, drove recklessly and veered into the other lane, causing a collision between the bus and the lorry. "Initial reports indicate that eight bus passengers and the lorry driver have died. A container lorry also collided with a school bus coming from behind, but the passengers on the school bus escaped. The injured have been rushed to government hospitals in Tumkur and Hiriyur," IGP told the media.