12 killed in Jeep-tanker collision in Karnataka

Twelve people were killed and another person injured when the jeep in which they were travelling collided with a tanker at Chikkaballapur, Karnataka on Thursday.

The accident happened on Thursday morning on NH 44, just in front of Chitravati Traffic Police Station. 12 died and one was seriously injured in this incident. The dead include 8 men and 4 women.

According to sources, due to dense fog, the car driver could not see the tanker parked on the roadside and collided with it.

Giving information about the incident, SP Chikkaballapur said, "Today at 7:15 am, a road accident occurred near Chikkaballapur on NH 44 (Bangalore-Hyderabad) highway. A Tata Sumo number AP02CH 1021 hit the tanker number NL01Q1954 from behind. 12 people traveling in the Tata Sumo died on the spot. One person is seriously injured and is being treated at Chikkaballapur General Hospital. We are gathering information about the victims, drivers and vehicles involved in the incident,’’.

Police said that the accident took place at around 7 am in the morning on the outskirts of the district headquarters of Chikkaballapur town.

The SUV was going from Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh to Bengaluru when the driver rammed into a tanker parked on National Highway-44, killing 12 passengers, including four women.

A senior police officer said that preliminary investigation has revealed that those killed in the accident were residents of Anantapur district.

The car driver is also among the dead. The reason for the accident is not yet known. It is suspected that the accident may have occurred due to low visibility due to fog but this has not been confirmed yet. He said that the deceased were residents of Gorantla in Anantapur and did not belong to a family.

Police said that a case of accident has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and efforts are being made to identify the deceased and contact their family members. Efforts are being made to do so.