9 Killed As Private Bus Catches Fire After Collision With Truck In Karnataka's Chitradurga

The accident took place when a lorry travelling from Hiriyur towards Bengaluru veered across the central divider and crashed into an oncoming bus.

At least nine people are feared to have been killed and 21 others injured after a sleeper coach bus caught fire following a collision with a truck in Karnataka’s Chitradurga district in the early hours of Thursday, police said.

The accident occurred around 2 a.m. at Gorlattu Cross on National Highway 48, when a truck travelling in the opposite direction crossed the central divider and rammed into the bus after the driver reportedly lost control.

Preliminary investigations indicate that nine passengers on board the bus are missing and feared dead. The truck driver, identified as Kuldeep, also died in the incident. Several passengers managed to escape after the bus caught fire.

IGP (North East) B R Ravikanthe Gowda said on Thursday that the exact number of fatalities would be confirmed once the bodies are recovered. “Nine passengers are missing and are feared dead,” he said, adding that clarity would emerge after retrieval operations are completed.

According to the police, the private Sea Bird sleeper coach bus was travelling from Bengaluru to the coastal town of Gokarna when it was struck by the truck. The identities of the deceased are yet to be established, and authorities are in the process of collecting passenger details.

District officials said that 12 passengers with minor injuries were admitted to the Hiriyur taluk hospital, while nine others who sustained serious injuries were shifted to a hospital in Tumakuru. The fire has since been extinguished, and senior police officers from both Chitradurga and Tumakuru districts were present at the site.

Authorities said the bodies still need to be recovered from the burnt bus, identified, and sent for post-mortem examinations before being handed over to relatives. In total, 21 people were injured in the accident. Preliminary information suggests that 32 passengers were travelling in the bus.

Police said initial findings point to negligence on the part of the truck driver. The driver and cleaner of the bus escaped unhurt. The truck driver was a resident of Uttar Pradesh, officials added.

The accident led to severe traffic disruption, with a traffic jam stretching nearly 30 kilometres reported along the Bengaluru–Sira section of the highway for several hours.

Officials also said a bus carrying schoolchildren on an academic tour, which was travelling behind the affected vehicle, narrowly avoided the collision. Further investigations are underway, and more details are awaited.

(With IANS inputs)