The death of nines members of two families in an accident near Mysore has numbed their relatives and friends back home at Deralakatte on the outskirts of Mangalore.
Families of Amiruddin and P.H. Mohammed, residents of Deralakatte, were returning from a pilgrimage in Tamil Nadu, when their car collided with a truck transporting LPG cylinders near Periyapatna about 55 km from Mysore on Wednesday. Eleven others were injured in the accident. Mr. Amiruddin’s younger sister Ubeeda said the two families visited Muthupet Dargah in Thiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu as part of a vow. Mr. Mohammed took his ailing 16-month-old child, Mohammed Mustafah Samoon, along with his family to the dargah.
Seven members from Mr. Amiruddin’s family and 13 members from Mohammed’s family left in a hired tourist van (Tempo Traveller) on Saturday. “I received a call around 10 p.m. yesterday from Fousia that they were on the way back. It was shocking to hear about the accident early in the morning,” said Ms. Ubeeda. Her husband and other relatives left Mangalore for Mysore around 7 a.m. on Wednesday.
Those who died included Mr. Amiruddin (55), who worked as cloth seller, daughter Fousia (24), and her son Isham (8), a class 3 student of Kunil School. Those who escaped with injuries include Mr. Amiruddin’s wife Afsa (40), son Arif (18), Fousia’s husband Iqbal, who works in Saudi Arabia, and their son Ishan (3).
Mr. Mohammed, a beedi contractor, was travelling with his wife Zeenat (20) and children Shamna (10), Safeeda (8) and Samoona (2). Safeeda, a class 3 student of Vidyaratna School in Deralakatte, and Samoona died in the accident. Shamna was injured.
Safruddin, a resident of Farangipet, who was behind the wheel also died in the accident.
While the house of Mr. Mohammed was kept locked, his son-in-law Rameez, had come there after hearing the news. “It’s disturbing to see images on the television,” said Mr. Rameez, a rickshaw driver.
