Five friends on their way back home from a Bakrid feast died in a devastating road accident in Karnataka’s Chitradurga district, as their car suffered a tyre blowout and rammed into a parked lorry late Thursday night, the police said.

According to police, the wreckage unfolded near Tumkurlahalli bridge in the Molakalmuru region, and the car was reduced to a mangled heap of metal remains. Meanwhile, all five occupants succumbed to their injuries on the spot due to the fierce collision.

Identities of the victims

The police said that the victims have been identified as Raghu (40), Rudresh (36), Pramod (35), Somashekar (35) and Mallikarjun. As per police, the group had travelled to the Hanagal village in Molakalmuru taluk to attend a Bakrid gathering hosted by a friend, and were heading back to Challakere when the tragedy befell.

Tyre blowout causes car to swerve, lose control

The investigating police personnel said the group was travelling in a sedan car, when one of the tyres allegedly burst near a roadside dhaba at 9:45 pm on Thursday. Deputy Superintendent of Police Satyanarayana Rao said the vehicle was rushing at a high speed along the Beedur-Srirangapatna stretch of the highway when the driver lost control of the vehicle post-tyre burst.

The officer said, “After the tyre blowout, the car swerved and crashed into the rear side of a lorry parked along the roadside.” Officials aware of the incident said that the impact of the collision was so fierce that the car was crushed almost entirely, leaving no room for the occupants to escape.

Locals, cops jointly conduct rescue operation

On receipt of the information, cops from the Molakalmuru Police station rushed to the scene. Locals also joined them in the rescue operation to help them retrieve the bodies trapped inside the twisted remains of the vehicle. After the bodies were recovered, they were sent to a nearby government hospital’s mortuary for post-mortem.

The police said one of the victims, Pramod, was a two-time councillor elected from the Janata Dal (Secular) in the Challakere City Municipal Council. Several political leaders and residents have expressed grief over his death, sources said.

Meanwhile, the police have registered a case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and further probe is underway to ascertain additional details surrounding the incident.