K'taka accident: PM condoles loss of lives; announces Rs 2 lakh each to kin

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday condoled the loss of lives in a road accident in Karnataka and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased.

Eight people were killed and at least 20 others injured in an accident involving a private bus and a truck on the Hubballi-Dharwad bypass road during the early hours of Tuesday, police said.

The bus was heading from Kolhapur in Maharashtra to Bengaluru, while the truck was plying from the opposite direction.

”Pained by the loss of lives due to a mishap in Hubli, Karnataka. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon,” the prime minister was quoted as saying in a tweet by his office.

”An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from PMNRF (Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund) would be given to the next of kin of those who lost their lives due to the mishap in Hubli. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000,” Modi said.

The accident occurred after the bus driver allegedly lost control while trying to overtake a tractor and hit the truck head-on, police said.

Six people died on the spot, and two succumbed to injuries in hospital, they said.

According to the police, the deceased include the two bus drivers and the truck driver.