Ankola, September 18, 2025 – A horrific accident on National Highway 52 near Adlur in Ankola taluk claimed two lives and injured nine others when a KSRTC bus collided head-on with a tanker lorry. The tanker driver and one bus passenger died on the spot, with the bus overturning and being severely damaged.

The KSRTC bus (KA 31 F 1247), traveling from Makki Gadde to Ankola, and the tanker (KA 29 C 2998), heading from Ankola to Yellapur, crashed in front of Taranga Hotel. The tanker driver, Sharappa S. from Muddebihaal, succumbed at the scene. The passenger who died was Bhaskar Ganvkar from Keni in the taluk.

The bus driver, Ratnakar Naik from Aversa Dandebaag, suffered leg injuries, along with eight other passengers. The injured include school teacher Veena Venkataramana from Makki Gadde, Pragna Pradeep Naik Alageri and her daughter Sanvi, Savitri Daaku Gowda Okkal Belase, Raksha Raghavendra Banavali from Aversa, bus conductor Chandrashekar Narayana Naik Kodkani, Shridhar Ishwara Harikant from Balale, Radhakrishna Mahabaleshwar Naik from Makki Gadde, and another passenger who self-transported to Karwar District Hospital. Ambulances from Ankola, Ramanguli, Gokarna, and Gullahpur rushed the injured to taluk and district hospitals for treatment.

The crash occurred when the tanker, attempting to overtake, lost control and slammed into the oncoming bus, causing it to flip and shatter into pieces. PSIs Gurunath Hadimani and Sunil Hullolli arrived to oversee the investigation and legal proceedings.

SP Deepan M.N., en route to a Sharavati Pumped Storage hearing in Gerusoppe, rushed to the scene and Ankola Government Hospital upon learning of the accident. CPI Chandrashekar Mathapati coordinated with senior officials. KSRTC Divisional Officer Shivanand and others inspected the site.

Highway patrol ASI Devidas and constable Umesh, 112 emergency staff, police, and Home Guard personnel managed traffic and cleared the road using cranes to move the vehicles. Social workers Vijayakumar Naik from Kanasi Gadde and Bommayya Naik assisted in transporting bodies to the taluk hospital mortuary. Locals like Ganapati Naik from Moolmane, Manjunatha, and residents from Agasur, Adlur, and nearby areas provided humanitarian aid.