Daijiworld Media Network - Puttur (SP)

Puttur, Aug 31: Two persons lost their lives, and another person suffered serious injuries, in an accident involving a tanker, mini truck and a bus at Neerakatte in Bajathur village on national highway 75. The accident occurred in the wee hours of Tuesday August 30.

The two who died in this accident are Puram Pasha (32) from Mysuru, who was driving the mini truck and cleaner of the vehicle, Rama alias Ramesh (40). A passenger, identified as Shariff (30), suffered serious injuries in the accident.

The mini truck was moving from Mangaluru towards Hassan, when a tanker going towards Mangaluru from Bengaluru collided with it at around 5 am. While driver, Pasha, died on the spot, cleaner, Rama, and passenger, Shariff, had suffered injuries.

Both Rama and Shariff had got down from the truck and were standing by the roadside to seek assistance, when a private bus moving to Mangaluru to Bengaluru, which was moving at high speed, unaware of the accident that had happened minutes earlier, suddenly turned to the left to avoid hitting the two vehicles involved with the accident. The bus hit Rama and Shariff waiting by the roadside, inflicting critical injuries on them. Arrangements were made to take both of them to hospital, but Rama died on the way. Shariff stands admitted into a private hospital here with serious injuries. A case was registered at traffic police station here.

The tanker was carrying some chemical substance to Mangaluru from Bengaluru. Its driver, who had fled from the spot, stands arrested.

Shariff from Kolpe had visited some other place on work and had reached Uppinangady early morning on Tuesday. He had boarded a mini truck which came that way but the vehicle hit a tanker. When he was waiting by the roadside with the cleaner, a bus hit him.

The people believe that wooden logs were being transported by the mini truck, but the police have dismissed the rumours. The fact that the mini truck was immediately shifted out of the accident spot strengthened the suspicion of the people.

As a result of the accident, vehicular traffic on the highway was blocked for over an hour. Vehicles had queued up for several kilometres on both sides of the accident spot before policemen arranged to clear the spot and opened the road for traffic.