FATAL ACCIDENT ON NETHRAVATHI BRIDGE, BANTWAL

Today on 09-01-2006 at 05 15 A.M, a gruesome accident resulted on the Nethravthi bridge with the head on collision between a Volvo bus ( KA 20 A 4907) belonging to Durgamba travels coming from Bangalore and headed towards Mangalore, and a jeep ( KA 21 M 1330) coming from B.C. Road towards Uppinangady resulting in the death of 2 individuals including a lady traveling in the illfated jeep and injuring several others. The deceased have been identified as Janardhana Poojary (32) and Mrs. Kamala (50) both belonging to Panjikallu, Bantwal taluk. The other five passengers of the jeep of whom one Vishwanath (38) sustained serious head injury have all been rushed to AJ hospital, Mangalore. The Local police rushed to the spot within minutes of the incident and assisted in quickly moving the injured to the hospital and clearing the blocked National Highway 48. Interestingly the Volvo bus which hit the jeep head-on on the wrong side of the road took a sharp deviation to the left and crashing against the side pillars of the bridge plunged about 30 feet down towards the river bed and stopped meters away from the bank of the river and luckily the fourty sleepy passengers of the bus escaped with minor injuries after the rude shock. A case has been registered under Bantwal town PS Cr. No. 4/2006 u/s 279, 337, 338, 304A, 427 IPC against Nagaraj, the rash and negligent driver of the bus.