As many as 11 passengers, five of them women, in a minibus died and at least 10 were injured when it collided with a Mantralaya-bound KSRTC bus on the Hoskote-Chintamani Road in Nandagudi police station limits in Hoskote taluk, 30 km from here, on Monday evening.
The police said that a man and a woman following in a car also suffered injuries when it rammed the vehicle. A lorry too is said to have ploughed into the vehicles, causing a pileup.
The dead were mostly factory workers from the Pillagumpe Industrial Area who had flagged down the minibus. The police said that the vehicle was jam-packed, exceeding the capacity.
The police said that the accident occurred around 6.30 p.m. in Karapanahalli village near Sathyavara when the minibus was trying to overtake vehicles on the road.
The dead are Mahadev (driver of the minibus), Ramappa, Kempanna, Narayanappa, Devraj, Lokesh, Dilshad, Pavitra, Gowramma, Radha and 14-year-old Pushpa. All of them are believed to be residents of areas surrounding Hoskote, Kolar and Chickballapur districts. The injured were taken to the MVJ Hospital near Nandagudi and to Bowring and Victoria hospitals in Bangalore. Three of them are said to be critical.
The evening rain hampered rescue operations, said the police, who have registered a case.
