Van, bus collide near Mysore, 9 killed

MYSORE: Nine persons going to an engagement ceremony in a mini-van were killed when the vehicle collided with a KSRTC bus near Mysore on Thursday.The head-on collision occurred on Mysore-KR Pet Road near Chinakurali village in Pandavapura taluk. All the nine persons were hailing from Mandi Mohalla in Mysore.The deceased have been identified as Rohith, 6, Rohan, 4, Kumar, 35, Doddachaluvaiah, 70, Puttamma, 50 — all belonging to one family — Appaswamy, 65, Chikka Chaluvaiah, 60, Jothi, 40, and driver of the vehicle Dilip. The injured have been admitted to two hospitals in Mysore.They were on their way to Kunnenahalli to take part in the engagement of the son of Doddachaluvaiah and  Puttamma, Kumar, who did not travel in the ill-fated vehicle.Mandya Deputy Commissioner P C Jaffar and other officials visited K R Hospital, where the bodies of the deceased were kept. Former MLA M K Somashekar held talks with KSRTC officials and got them shifted to a hospital. He said the KSRTC would bear their medical expenses. A relative of the deceased said four persons were battling for their lives in the hospital. The deceased will be cremated on Friday.Three killed in Two Road MishapsTwo persons were killed when a tractor hit a bike near Srirangapatna-Pandavapura traffic circle. Tractor driver Suresh lost control over the vehicle and knocked down bike, resulting in the death of the two. In another accident, one Jayamma was killed when a speeding tipper lorry ran over her near Mandya Circle in Pandavapura.