Residents of Emmehatti in Bhadravati taluk of Shivamogga district in Karnataka woke up on Friday morning to the shocking news of the death of 13 persons from the village in an accident in Haveri district.
On June 28 morning, Hole Honnur Police reached the village to inform residents of a group of 17 persons, all members of a family based in Emmehatti, meeting with a road accident. The group was on a pilgrimage.
Adarsh, 23, a driver, had purchased a pre-owned Tempo Traveller about 15 days ago. He planned a trip to Chincholi Mayamma temple, Savadatti in Belagavi in Karnataka and Chhote Lakshmi temple in Maharashtra. Besides his parents, he invited his grandmother, uncles, aunts and cousins to join him for a pilgrimage in his new vehicle.
They left the village on June 24. As per their itinerary, they were to return on June 28 morning. Of the 17 passengers, 13 died in the accident.
Adarsh’s parents Nagesh Rao and Vishalamma, grandmother Subhadrabai died in the accident. His sister Arpitha suffered injuries. Vishalamma was an ASHA worker at Emmehatti.
Hole Honnur police reached the village around 5.30 a.m. on June 28 to inform the villagers about the accident in Haveri.
Shankar, uncle of Adarsh, said, “The police woke us up to inform us about the accident.”
All the victims were residents of Emmehatti in Bhadravati taluk of Shivamogga district in Karnataka. | Photo Credit: Sathish G.T.
Soon after learning about the accident, around 20 persons from Emmehatti left for Haveri. The relatives of the victims were waiting for the bodies to arrive.
Suresh, a resident of Emmehatti, was not sure if his mother had died in the accident. “All those on the trip are my relatives, including my mother, my sister and her family. Don’t know how to digest the fact that all are dead now,” he said.
