A private bus, which was heading from Karnataka to Kerala’s KasAragod for a wedding function, met with an accident in the district. Kasaragod District Collector D Sajith Babu confirmed the death of seven persons, including two children. Many are reported to be seriously injured and have been admitted to various hospitals, including hospitals in the bordering district of Dakshina Kannada in Karnataka. All passengers are said to be natives of Karnataka.
According to reports, the accident took place around 11.30 am near Panathur in Kasaragod. The vehicle is said to have fell from an elevated road, plunging into a house located below. However, according to reports, the house was fortunately empty at the time of the accident. According to visuals from the accident spot, the bus has been massively mangled, as it reportedly plunged from a great height. Some passengers were said to have been trapped under the bus.
The deceased are: Shreyas (13), Sullia native Ravichandran (40), Rajesh (45), Puttur native Sumathi (50), Sheshamma (39), Adarsh (12) and Shashidhara Pujari (43).
“Panthur is an elevated region. According to people present there, about 70 people were inside the bus. However, they managed to evacuate all passengers from the bus. Five people were declared brought dead to a government hospital in the region,” Kasaragod Collector D Sajith Babu told New 18 Kerala.
Bus crashed onto a house
He also added that 24 people have been admitted to Kanhangad district hospital. “The Resident Medical Officer of the hospital said one person brought there succumbed to injuries. So, in total, six people have died so far,” the Collector told Asianet News. Later one more person succumbed to the injuries.
The Collector also said that since Panthur does not have many hospitals, the injured passengers had to be rushed to other hospitals, including in Karnataka.
According to a survivor who spoke to News 18 Kerala, there were more than 55 passengers in the bus.
Meanwhile, the Collector also added that people are being transferred to Pariyaram Medical College hospital in Kannur district.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condoled the deaths and said that the injured will be given adequate treatment facilities.
(This is a developing story)
Watch videdo of visuals from the accident spot