Karnataka Accident: Nine Family Members Killed After Car Catches Fire in Collision

PTI, April 17, 2026, Yadgir:: Nine members of a single family were killed after a car allegedly collided head-on with a private bus and caught fire in Surpur taluk on Friday, police said.

The accident occurred near Shantapura Cross in Surpur taluk, they said.

The deceased were identified as Krishna Nayak (52) and his wife Anantha Kala (45); Sharanappa (36) and his wife Nisarga (30); their children Siddhartha (3), Advik (5), and Srinidhi (1.5); and Shashikala (30) and her son Chandan (8), police said.

However, Shashikala’s other son, Virat (10), survived, they added.

Citing preliminary investigation and eyewitness accounts, Superintendent of Police Pruthvik Shankar told PTI that the Compact Utility Vehicle (CUV) reportedly suffered a tyre burst, after which the driver lost control, leading to a head-on collision with a private bus. The CUV subsequently caught fire, resulting in the deaths of nine occupants.

A total of 10 people, five children among them, were travelling in the car at the time of the accident. Four occupants, two of them children, were burnt alive on the spot, he said.

All the occupants were rushed to the Yadgiri Institute of Medical Sciences for treatment. Nine were declared dead, while the lone survivor, Virat, is undergoing treatment, the officer added.

The impact of the collision was so severe that both the car and the bus were completely gutted by fire. Fire and emergency services personnel rushed to the scene and extinguished the flames.

According to the SP, those travelling in the car hailed from Sirwar taluk in Raichur district. The vehicle was reportedly heading from Yadgir towards their hometown in Raichur, while the bus was travelling from Bengaluru to Kalaburagi.

All 20 passengers on the bus are reported to be safe and were rescued in time, he said. Further investigation is under way, police added.