9 killed, 20 injured in bus-truck collision in K'taka

Bangalore, Nov 27 (UNI) Nine people, including driver, conducter and two women, were killed and 20 seriously injured when a State Road Transport Corporation bus collided with a multi-axel truck near Channapatna, about 60 km from here today.

Police said the accident occurred when the bus driver lost control over the vehicle, hit the road divider and rolled over to the other side even as the truck, coming from the opposite direction rammed into it, splitting the bus into two. Due to the heavy impact, eight passengers were killed on the spot, while another succumbed to his injuries on way to a hospital.

The truck was carrying an excavator from Bangalore to Mysore and the bus from here was on its way to Virajpet in Kodagu district.

While six of the dead were identified as bus driver Shivappa Nagappa Rathod, conductor Gouramma, Lalithamma, Karumbaiah, Hateeq Ahmad and Nasir, three others were yet to be identified.

The injured were admitted to hospitals in Channapatna and in the city, police said.

UNI RS ROY GL GC1606