Udupi: Three Vehicles Collide, One Killed as Fire Breaks Out

Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi
Pics by Inchara, Udupi

Udupi, Oct 31: In a horrific accident that occurred at Pangala on national highway 66, three vehicles were burnt down, and a person lost his life on the spot. Four persons suffered injuries. The accident occurred at Pangala near Kaup on Monday October 31 night.

A truck loaded with chemical fertilizers was moving towards Udupi, an Eicher tempo which was headed in the direction of Mangalore, and an auto rickshaw got involved in this accident.

As fire got ignited immediately, the auto rickshaw and truck were completely burnt down, and only their skeletal remains could be seen at the end. The Eicher tempo was partially burnt.

While the drivers of the truck and tempo succeeded in jumping from their vehicles to safety, the auto rickshaw driver was not as lucky, as his vehicle was sandwiched between the other two bigger vehicles. As soon as the accident occurred around 8 pm, the locals and policemen of Kaup station tried to drag the auto rickshaw driver, who was getting burnt alive, but did not succeed. They could not prolong their efforts, as fire spread to all the three vehicles within seconds, and threatened to give rise to an explosion.

Identity of the victim is not known. Efforts are being made to find out details about him. Fire brigade personnel came on the scene after about an hour and controlled fire from spreading to other places. The incident occurred within minutes after state Chief Minister, D V Sadananda Gowda, returned by the same road after attending L K Advani’s programme at Udupi. This made the policemen, who were on tenterhooks till then, to heave a sigh of relief.

Kaup MLA, Lalaji R Mendon, Kaup circle inspector of police, Cheluvaraju, and Kaup station house officer, Mohan Kottary, directed relief operations. The body of the deceased was shifted to the district mortuary in the town.