The road accident rocked Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district, killing seven tourists and leaving two others critically injured after a cruiser vehicle collided head-on with a truck near Arbaile Ghat, one of the tourist destinations in Yellapur Taluk in Uttara Kannada (Karnataka).
The accident occurred on the Yellapur-Ankola road, which is one of the major roads connecting inland Karnataka to the coast. The victims were Dharwad district families on a three-day trip to coastal venues like Gokarna, Dharmasthala, and Mangaluru.
According to the preliminary information, the crash occurred near Balagar in the Arbaile Ghat section under the jurisdiction of Yellapur Police Station. The cruiser, a Tata Sumo-type tourist vehicle with registration number KA19AA5920, was travelling towards Ankola when it collided with a truck with registration number KA22AA1008 travelling in the other direction. The collision had a great impact on the front part of the cruiser, and several passengers were trapped inside the vehicle.
Police and residents arrived immediately after the accident and conducted rescue operations. Six people were killed on the spot because of the accident, and another died of injuries later, bringing the total death toll to seven. At that point, they took the injured passengers to a nearby hospital and gave them emergency treatment there, and two of them are in critical condition.
The group consisted of nine people, including the driver, all of them from Dharwad and the surrounding areas. The passengers were part-time in Swiggy food delivery service jobs and had planned a trip together after contributing around ₹5,000 each towards travel expenses. What was supposed to be a three-day trip turned into a tragedy within hours of departure from Dharwad on their way home.
The deceased have been identified as Basavaraj (48) from Bailhongal, Abhishek Eshwar (28) from Jayanagar, Akshay (26) from Sadhanakeri, Abhishek (26) from Sattapur, Sanjay Angadi (48), the driver from Kurubarahatti, Manjunath Chulaki (33), and Murughamath. Their sudden deaths have left families, friends, and local communities in grief.
Shivaraj Madivalar (22) from Navalgund, Sanjeev (26) from Mehboob Nagar, and Chinnappa Kalaghatagi (28) from Dharwad are among the casualties who have been identified. Medical officials say that two of the injured are in very serious condition and are being treated in intensive care.
After the accident, police officials went to the site and have since investigated the circumstances that caused the collision. Speed, driver fatigue, road conditions, and visibility issues are the likely explanations for the incident, authorities said. The Arbaile Ghat stretch is a winding, mountainous one and in the monsoon season can be very dangerous.
The bodies of the deceased are now being sent for post-mortem examination, and there is a campaign to return them home to their families. Local authorities are supporting the bereaved families in every way and are doing everything.
The tragic Yellapur Ghat accident has once again brought home the danger of travelling on ghat roads and is a reminder of the necessity of road safety, safe driving, and adherence to traffic regulations on long stretches of highway. Seven young lives have been lost in one accident, and the families of Dharwad and Uttara Kannada are left with grief and unanswered questions about what went wrong with the accident.
