Chitradurga, Karnataka, Dec 26, 2025: Six people, including a five-year-old girl, died after a container truck crossed the divider and crashed into a private sleeper bus on National Highway 48 in Karnataka’s Chitradurga district early Thursday, police said. The bus caught fire soon after the collision.

The crash took place around 2 am near Javanagondanahalli village in Hiriyur taluk, when the bus was travelling from Bengaluru to Gokarna with over 30 people on board, including the driver and an assistant, according to officials. Most passengers were asleep at the time, police said.

Police said the container truck, which was coming from the opposite side, lost control, jumped the median and hit the bus. Senior officers said the truck struck near the bus’s fuel tank area, and the fire spread within minutes, leaving little time for passengers to move out.

The dead include five bus passengers and the truck driver, police said. Among the passengers killed were a woman and her five-year-old daughter, who were travelling to Gokarna for a holiday, officials added. Some victims were badly burned, and the district police said a forensic team reached the spot, and samples may be sent for DNA tests for confirmatio,n where needed.

At least 12 people were injured and taken to nearby hospitals, officials said. Three of the injured were moved to Bengaluru for further treatment, while others were treated in government hospitals in and around Hiriyur, Sira and Tumakuru.

A separate bus carrying schoolchildren was travelling behind the sleeper coach and narrowly avoided a direct hit, police said. Reports said the school bus clipped the burning vehicle, but the children were not hurt.

PM @narendramodi has approved an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to the tragic hospital fire in Bhandara, Maharashtra. Rs. 50,000 would be given to those seriously injured.

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) January 11, 2021

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh from the PM National Relief Fund would be given to the next of kin of each person who died, and ₹50,000 to the injured. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced ₹5 lakh for the families of the dead and ₹50,000 for the injured, and said a case has been registered and the cause will be examined.

ಚಿತ್ರದುರ್ಗ ಬಳಿ ಸಂಭವಿಸಿದ ಲಾರಿ ಮತ್ತು ಬಸ್ ನಡುವಿನ ಅಪಘಾತದಲ್ಲಿ ಹಲವು ಪ್ರಯಾಣಿಕರು ಸಜೀವ ದಹನವಾದ ಘೋರ ದುರಂತದ ಸುದ್ದಿ ಕೇಳಿ ಎದೆ ನಡುಗಿತು. ಕ್ರಿಸ್ಮಸ್ ರಜೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಊರಿಗೆ ತೆರಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದವರ ಪ್ರಯಾಣ ಈ ರೀತಿ ದುರಂತದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೊನೆಗೊಂಡಿರುವುದು ವಿಷಾದನೀಯ.

ಅಪಘಾತದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಸೂಕ್ತ ತನಿಖೆ ನಡೆಸಿ, ಕಾರಣವನ್ನು ಪತ್ತೆಹಚ್ಚಲಾಗುವುದು.
ಮೃತರ… pic.twitter.com/Ol4dR9ercB

— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) December 25, 2025