Four people were killed and 14 others injured when a private sleeper bus travelling from Bengaluru to Kozhikode collided with a goods lorry near Periyapatna in Karnataka’s Mysuru district early Friday, according to Periyapatna police. The crash occurred at about 3.45 am while rain was reported in the area.
The Kaveri sleeper bus was travelling from Karnataka towards Kerala when it collided with a lorry coming from the opposite direction. Preliminary information from the police indicated that a tree had fallen across the road amid the rain. The lorry driver reportedly swerved to the right to avoid the obstruction and moved into the path of the oncoming bus.
The front portions of both vehicles were severely damaged in the collision. Police said the bus was allegedly travelling at high speed. The three identified fatalities were bus driver Sunil, bus cleaner Sagesh and Aftab, a resident of Kozhikode. The identity of the fourth victim had not been established at the time of the report.
The bodies were shifted to Periyapatna Government Hospital for post-mortem examinations. The 14 injured passengers were taken to hospitals in Hunsur and Mysuru. Some of the injured sustained serious injuries, police said, while their condition was still being assessed. Authorities had not reported any further fatalities.
The crash has brought together several road-safety risks on an inter-state night route: reduced visibility during rain, a fallen tree blocking the carriageway, an evasive manoeuvre by an approaching vehicle and the reported speed of the bus. The available police account describes these as preliminary circumstances, and the investigation will establish how the collision occurred.
A case has been registered at Periyapatna police station. Further investigation is under way, while authorities are continuing to ascertain the condition of the injured passengers and establish the identity of the fourth person who died in the crash.
