Nineteen passengers on board a truck killed in road mishap

In a tragic mishap, 19 members of a marriage party including the bride were killed and 22 others were injured when the truck carrying them collided with a state-run bus in Bellary in Karnataka yesterday.

Police said the dead included six children and eight women, besides the driver of the ill-fated truck that was carrying a marriage party from Talikote to Bangalore. The injured persons were rushed to hospitals in Bellary and Kudligi. The condition of four of them is said to be serious.

The mishap took place when the truck joined the national highway - 13 from a by-pass road at Alur Cross near Bellary, about 300 kms from Bangalore. A Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus, also bound for Bangalore from Bilgi, collided with the truck as soon as it entered the national highway early on Friday morning.

Police said 18 persons died on the spot and one died on the way to the hospital. Most of the victims belonged to Bangalore.