13 killed in K'taka road mishap, PM condoles deaths

Dharwad (Karnataka), Jan 15 In a major road mishap, at least 13 people, including 11 women, were killed and six others were critically injured when a tempo traveller collided with a truck near Itigatti village in Karnataka's Dharwad district on Friday morning.

The deceased have been identified as Asha Jagadish, Praveena, Poorninma, Manasi, Pramjyothi, Rajeshwari Shivakumar, Shakuntala, Usha, Veda, Nirmala, Manjula Neelesh, Rajini Srinivasa and Preethi Ravikumar.

According to the police, the tempo traveller was carrying 17 passengers, mostly women, from Davangere to Goa for a family function when the tragedy struck.

Dharwad Superintendent of Police P. Krishnakant told that 11 women passengers and two drivers died on the spot, while six passengers who sustained critical injuries have been shifted to the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) for treatment.

Krishnakant added that the truck was going to Hubballi from Belagavi while the tempo traveller was heading from Davanagere to Goa. Apparently, the truck had overtaken the tempo, resulting in a massive accident.

Another police officer, who was on the spot, told that the cops had to take the help of a crane to extract nine bodies from the mangled tempo traveller.

The police said that about fortnight ago, the group had planned this trip to Goa and had decided to leave their family members behind.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condoled the deaths and wished for the speedy recovery of the injured.

( With inputs from IANS )