Daijiworld Media Network - Karkala
Karkala, Feb 16: The passengers on the mini bus that met with the ghastly accident on the evening of Saturday February 15 at Karkala had no idea that what was supposed to be a fun office trip would turn so tragic.
The mini bus belonging to DB Travels travelling from Mysuru dashed into a boulder, claiming nine lives and injuring 27 others.
The Injured tourists of the bus have said that they were enjoying their tour singing songs and playing 'Antakshari'. They are of the opinion that the driver might have been distracted by the noise they were making.
This was one of the most horrible accidents to have taken place in coastal Karnataka in recent years. The group of youths, who were in the ill-fated bus, were employees of Vital Record Company of Nanjangud. They work as data entry operators.
Deepika and Divyashree, two of the injured, said, "The accident has shocked us. We were in holiday mood. We were having fun in the bus and playing Antakshari. As we made too much noise, the driver's focus must have lapsed, thus causing the accident."
The group of youths had left Mysuru on February 14 and had been to Shringeri and Kalasa and were on their way to Malpe beach in Udupi. But their tour and the lives of nine of them were cut short due to the shocking accident.
According to some reporters, at around 5.30 pm on Saturday, the axle of the bus got cut when the driver was veering the bus to the right to give way for an oncoming vehicle. This resulted in the bus crashing directly onto the roadside boulder.
The injured are recuperating in City hospital and government hospital of Karkala and KMC hospital in Manipal.