Inchara Udupi
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SP)

Udupi, Mar 26: In a tragic accident which occurred at Muloor near Kaup in the district around midnight on Monday March 24, a fish vendor lost his life.

A tanker that was perilously driven on national highway 66 on the wrong side of the road, smashed the Mahindra pickup jeep in which the fish vendor, identified as Amanulla (21) from Ankola in Uttara Kannada district, was travelling. Driver of the jeep, Sunil, who was also injured in the accident, was rushed to a private hospital in Udupi for treatment. 

Sardines loaded in the pickup jeep got scattered on the highway as a result. The entire area was enveloped with nauseating stench as a result. The pickup jeep was carrying a load of sardines to Mangalore, while the tanker was carrying petrol towards Bhatkal. It is apparent that the driver of the tanker, in spite of being on the wrong side of the road, was driving the vehicle recklessly and at high speed.

As the pickup jeep was badly mangled in the accident, the work of removing of the driver and fish vendor, who had got stuck inside the vehicle, turned arduous. It took around two hours to complete the task, which was conducted under the leadership of Soori Shetty from Kaup. After finding that both of them had suffered critical injuries, they were taken to hospital. Amanulla later succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Manipal.

As the tanker was carrying petrol, fear about occurrence of another tragedy at the spot loomed large. As a precautionary measure, two fire tenders were summoned to the spot. These vehicles continued to be operational at the spot till Tuesday evening.