Mounesh Vishwakarma
Daijiworld Media Network - Bantwal

Bantwal, Dec 31: One person was killed and another seriously injured in a serial accident involving a bike, a truck and two buses at Ramalkatte near Thumbay here on Thursday December 31.

Monsy (21) from Kottayam, Kerala died in the accident while Suresh, a resident of Ramalkatte, suffered serious injuries. Suresh was riding the bike while Monsy was sittng pillion.

Monsy and Suresh were engaged in work related to manufacture of cement rings used in wells. On Thursday they were riding together along the highway at Ramalkatte, when a Eicher truck rammed head-oninto their bike when they were trying to move from the right at the highway turning. Both of them fell on to the road and sustained serious injuries, eyewitness said. They were rushed to the hospital, where Monsy passed away while Suresh, after initial treatment, was shifted to a hospital in Mangaluru.

After the Eicher truck hit the bike, the driver of a private bus that was behind the truck applied sudden brakes, following which, a KSRTC bus that was behind the private bus rammed into the latter. The buses were partially damaged, and no other injuries were reported.

Following the accident, traffic on the highway was affected for sometime. Sub-inspector of Bantwal rural police Rakshith A K along with traffic police arrived at the spot, cleared the vehicles and thus restored the traffic.

Bantwal traffic police have registered a case.

The locals who gathered at the spot said that due to encroachment of the highway at Ramalkatte curve and construction of a compound wall by private land owners, pedestrians and others were forced to use the busy highway road, which in turn has led to an increase in the number of accidents. This was reason for Thursday's accident too, claimed the locals, demanding the officials concerned to retrieve the encroached property and take suitable action against the guilty.