14 killed in vehicle pile-up in Chitradurga

Accident in Chitradurga district involved four vehicles, including a truck

One of the vehicles involved in the accident in Chitradurga district on Saturday.

A serial accident involving four vehicles claimed 14 lives and left 21 injured, some critically, at Rampura in the Molakalumuru taluk of Chitradurga district, Karnataka, on Saturday.

While 11 died on the spot, two were declared brought dead at VIMS Hospital in Ballari. One succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. Three of the four vehicles were passenger vehicles. One of them was heading for a funeral.

Lorry driver lost control

The accident occurred after the lorry driver lost control of the vehicle when one of the tyres burst. The truck mowed down two commercial passenger vehicles (locally called “tam-tams”) and a mini-bus. Those in the overloaded tam-tams were farm labourers and construction workers from Rampura travelling to Nagasamudra. The mini-bus was ferrying persons from Bengaluru to Yadgir district.

As many as 21 persons are being treated at the VIMS Hospital. The condition of some is said to be critical.

Superintendent of Police Arun Rangarajan, who supervised the relief measure, said rash and negligent driving by the truck driver might be the reason for the accident. Police sources in Molakalmuru said lack of road dividers and proper signboards on the highways and major roads are the causes of high instances of accidents on the stretch.

 

“We were heading to Bevinahalli in Yadgir district to attend a funeral,” Adeppa, one of the survivors, told The Hindu .

“We left Bengaluru around 6.30 a.m. Around 10.30 a.m., we saw a speeding truck from the opposite direction. It first hit a tam-tam and then another before hitting our mini-bus. Everything happened within minutes. Then we heard loud cries.”

Heart-rending scenes

It was a heart-rending scene at the hospital where children and women with bleeding injuries and fractures were being treated.

According to Adeppa, there were 14 elders and seven to eight children in the mini-bus, all residents of Bevinahalli and surrounding villages, working as labourers in Bengaluru.

 

Ministers H.K. Patil and Santosh Lad, who were on a tour of Ballari district, rushed to the hospital and consoled the victims. They oversaw the treatment being imparted to the injured.

Expressing grief over the accident, Mr. Patil and Mr. Lad said they would speak to the Chief Minister and persuade him to give more compensation to the family of the deceased and the injured.