Ten pals on Goa trip die in mishap
Ten women who wanted to celebrate their new-found freedom in Goa post Covid lockdown were killed in a dastardly accident in Karnataka’s Dharwad district. The minibus collided with a tipper truck on the HubballiDharwad bypass near Itigatti. The driver of the minibus was also killed on the spot.
Most of the deceased were medical professionals. While four of them were doctors, others were associated with medical colleges and hospitals. They also happened to be school friends and had planned a day’s outing in Goa almost for a fortnight and had left their family members behind.
They were part of a larger group of 16 from Davangere, all members of the local Ladies Club.
Among the deceased was the daughter-in-law of a former BJP MLA from Jagalur, Preethi Ravikumar. The accident took place around 8 am on Friday.
According to the Dharwad Rural Police the group had decided to visit their friend in Dharwad for breakfast and had taken a detour. It was while the minibus was crossing the Hubbali-Dharwad bypass that it collided head-on with the tipper truck.
"We had arranged breakfast for the team members at Brindavan hotel in Dharwad. The deceased were best friends since school times and were eager to meet us," said the family friend from Dharwad, reports the New Indian Express.
Those who died were identified as Asha, Meerabai, Paranjyoti, Rajeshwari, Shakuntala, Usha, Veda, Veena, Manjula, Nirmala, Rajaneesh, Swati and Preethi Ravikumar. Five women and the driver of the tipper truck sustained critical injuries and are currently undergoing treatment at KIMS Hospital in Hubballi.
PM Modi condoled the death of the 11 people. In a tweet, he said, “Saddened by the loss of lives due to a road accident in Karnataka’s Dharwad district. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. I pray for a quick recovery of those injured.” A police officer, who was on the spot, told IANS that the cops had to take the help of a crane to extricate nine bodies from the mangled tempo traveller.