Four Killed in Accident Involving Jeep Carrying Devotees to Shirdi

Karmala: A horrific accident occurred on Wednesday, December 27, 2023, when a car and a container truck collided head-on near the village of Pande in Karnala taluka, claiming the lives of four people on the spot. The accident took place on the Karnala-Salse road at approximately 5:30 AM IST. The car, a Tavera (no K3-N.0631), was carrying a group of eight devotees from Gulbarga, Karnataka, to the Shirdi Sai Baba temple. The container truck (no. RJ06GC2486) was carrying a load of tiles from Karnala to Salse.

Around 5:45 AM, the vehicles collided at a bridge near Pande village. The driver of the container truck fled the scene of the accident and is still at large. After hearing about the collision, people from Pande ran to the scene and rescued the injured before calling an ambulance and police. 

Three passengers were killed instantly while four other passengers were injured and taken to the Karnala Sub-district hospital. One of the injured passengers, Sharada Hiremath later succumbed to her injuries at the hospital.

The deceased have been identified as:

Shrishail Chandesha Kunbhar (age 56, Gulbarga)
Shashikala Shrishail Kunbhar (age 50, Gulbarga)
Jyoti Deepak Huvashalamath (age 38, Bagalkot)
Sharada Deepak Hiremath (age 70, Hubli)

The car driver Shrikant Rajkumar Chavan (20, Gulbarga) has sustained minor injuries while an 8 month old infant has survived. Others are undergoing treatment at the hospital.