Reunion plan turns tragic as 11 die in road accident

A mini-bus, headed to Goa, collides with another vehicle near Dharwad

The remains of the mini-bus being removed from the Hubballi-Dharwad Bypass Road on Friday.

A reunion plan at Goa turned tragic for old students of St. Paul’s School, Davangere, as their mini-bus collided with a tipper near Dharwad on Friday morning, killing 11 persons.

Superintendent of Police, Dharwad, P. Krishnakant said that the accident occurred on Hubballi-Dharwad Bypass Road near Swarga Farmhouse at Itigatti village.

The accident occurred when the tipper driver, who was allegedly over speeding, lost control while trying to overtake another vehicle proceeding to Hubballi and collided head-on with the mini-bus coming from the opposite direction.

The police and rescue personnel had a tough time extricating the bodies from the mangled remains of the mini-bus and rescuing those who were trapped inside it. The rescued people were rushed to hospitals in Hubballi immediately.

The schoolmates had left Davangere during early hours and were proceeding to Goa for a get-together. One of their distraught classmates, who visited the hospital in Hubballi, said they had planned a three-day trip to Goa for a reunion. They were to be joined by a few others who, however, cancelled at the last minute, she said.

The names of the deceased were given as: Preeti Ravijumar, 46, Varshita Viresh, 47, Paramjyoti Shashidhar Hunchur, 47, Manjula Natesh G.B., 47, Rajeshwar Shivakumar Bandammanavar, 46, Dr. Veena Prakash Mattihallil, 47, Ksheera Sureshbabu Poral, 21, Hemalatha alias Manashi, 48, Yashmita alias Aishu, 20, all from Davangere, driver of the mini-bus Raju Somappa Gorabannavar, 38, and cleaner Mallikarjun Udagatti, 27, of Ranebennur. Those in the twenties among them were children of the schoolmates who were headed for the reunion.

The injured are: Asha Jagadish Betur, 47, Veda Manjunath, 46, Usharani Ramesh, 46, Poornima Prakash, 46, all from Davangere, Praveena Prakash, 46, from Bengaluru and driver of the tipper Basavaraj Irappa Khadarolli, 25 of Ugarkhold in Kittur taluk of Belagavi district. They have been admitted to KIMS and a private hospital in Hubballi.

The Dharwad Rural Police have registered a case against the driver of the tipper.