Eight people were killed and 28 injured in a collision between a private passenger bus and a rice-laden truck on the Pune-Bengaluru national highway (NH4) near Hubballi on Tuesday midnight, 24 May.
Bengaluru Police said that six people were killed on the spot while two died while undergoing treatment at a private hospital. Both the drivers were killed on the spot due to the impact of the collision, said the police.
Hubballi-Dharwad police commissioner Labhu Ram told Hindustan Times that the accident took place between 12.30 am and 1 am. He said that the private bus from Kolhapur was en route to Bengaluru.
Most of the injured passengers are undergoing treatment at the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS).
Cause of Accident Unclear
Others with minor injuries are in other hospitals as well. The police commissioner said, “None of the injured is in a critical condition. Two people who were critical died in hospital, taking the death toll to 8.”
Ram said that the cause of the accident is still unclear. Officials of the Hubballi Police speculate that the accident took place while the private bus was trying to overtake a tractor and hit the truck ahead of them.
This is the second major accident in the region in the past four days.
On Saturday, 21 May, at least eight people, including three children, were killed while 13 sustained serious injuries after a multi-utility vehicle collided into a tree.
All the deceased, except for one, were members of the same family.
When asked about police vigilance following the accidents, the commissioner said that routine checks on major roads are still underway and the police are looking at what safety measures can be implemented.
(With inputs from Hindustan Times.)
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