Mangaluru/Kasaragod, Jul 24: Two children were killed and their father and six others were critically injured in collisions between vehicles on the Kasaragod-Mangaluru National Highway stretch.
The accident occurred at Adukkathbayal in Kasaragod district Sunday late night killing Milhaj, 5, on the spot while his elder sibling Ibrahim Shasil, 7, succumbed to injuries at a Mangaluru hospital on Monday.
The children’s father A.K. Rajeesh, 33, a resident of nearby Chowki was being treated at the Mangaluru hospital with critical eye and multiple body injuries, police said.
The mishap involving a car, two motorcycles, and a luxury private bus occurred after the car was hit by the bus from the rear apparently after its driver applied sudden brakes in a bid to avoid the deep potholes on the congested 50-km-long road.
In the melee, the car was dangerously dragged forward and hit two motorcycles that fell into a roadside ditch. It was pitch dark, making visibility an issue. One of the two wheelers that was hit was the bullet that Mr. Rajeesh was riding on his way home with his two sons. Of the seven injured, five, including two children and their mother, were travelling in the mangled car.
In a related development, a group of Indian Union Muslim League activists led by N.A. Nellikkunnu, MLA, on Mondaypicketed the National Highway wing of the PWD office in Kasaragod.
The protesters dispersed after the PWD officials assured that the road maintenance works would commence with immediate effect.
Meanwhile, operators of the private buses plying between Kasaragod and the northern border point of Thalapadi warned of suspending the bus services in view of the dismal road conditions.
In a statement, the bus operators federation warned that they were forced to withdraw buses in view of the mounting operational costs and their inability to run as per schedule due to the bad road conditions rendered so by poor maintenance works and worsened by recent heavy rain.
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