As many as four persons heading to their native places for the weekend died and another 23 persons were injured when a container truck hit a sleeper bus, triggering a fire, on the National Highway near Javanagondanahalli in Hiriyur taluk of Chitradurga district in Karnataka early morning on December 25. The driver of the truck also died, taking the toll in the accident to five
Around 2 a.m., the truck carrying beverages from Maharashtra to Nelamangala near Bengaluru jumped over the road divider and hit the oncoming private sleeper bus heading to Gokarna from Bengaluru. The impact set off a fire.
The 30 passengers, who were asleep, woke up due to the impact and found themselves amidst thick flames. Among the 32 persons in the bus, including the driver and his assistant, many succeeded in jumping off the vehicle. However, five persons, including the driver of the container truck, died in the accident.
Security personnel at the site where a truck hit a private sleeper bus, which caught fire following the impact, in Chitradurga distrcit of Karnataka on December 25, 2025.
Sachin, who was driving a private bus carrying schoolchildren for a trip to Dandeli, witnessed the accident. Seconds before the accident, the sleeper bus overtook his vehicle. “While my bus was a few metres behind, a truck coming from the opposite direction, jumped over the divider and hit the sleeper bus. As a result, the sleeper bus swerved to the left and hit my bus. I somehow managed to take my vehicle to the left and down the slope, and reached the service road, by crossing the fencing,” said Sachin.
He got down from his vehicle and saw the sleeper bus in flames. Along with a few local people, he succeeded in rescuing a few people, including the driver and his assistant, from the sleeper bus.
The private bus carrying 43 children from a private school in T. Dasarahalli in Bengaluru was also damaged in the accident in Chitradurga district of Karnataka on December 25, 2025. All the children are safe, but several passengers in the sleeper bus lost their lives.
| Photo Credit:
S K DInesh
The local people called up the police, fire station and the ambulance. Fire tenders from Sira, Hiriyur and Chitradurga reached the spot, and put out the fire.
The fire tenders had difficulty reaching the spot as vehicles had piled up on the busy national highway following the accident. Thousands of people were on the way to their native places to spend the year-end Christmas holidays. The highway, which connects Karnataka to Pune in Maharashtra, is busy during the holidays.
Senior police officers from both Chitradurga and Tumakuru districts reached the spot. Fire and Emergency Services personnel retrieved four bodies from the bus and one from the truck.
The injured persons were shifted to nearby hospitals at Sira and Hiriyur.
3 persons admitted to hospital in Bengaluru
Three injured persons were admitted to the Mahabodhi Burns Ward at Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru.
Yogishwarappa C.N., Professor and Head of the Burns Department at the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI), to which Victoria Hospital is affiliated, said that one of the patients remains in critical condition.
Manjunath (24), a resident of Bengaluru, sustained about 30% burns ranging from superficial to deep in the accident. He has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. The doctor said he has suffered injuries due to smoke inhalation, in addition to burns on his back, lower limbs, hands and the posterior part. While his condition is currently stable, it continues to be critical. Owing to his young age and the absence of any pre-existing medical conditions, doctors said they were hopeful of his recovery, provided no complications, such as sepsis or infections, develop.
Two other injured passengers, Devika (22) and Keerthan (22), sustained minor burns. Devika suffered about 3% accidental thermal burns while Keerthan sustained around 5% burns. Both are said to be stable.
Another passenger, who sustained a nasal injury, was treated on an outpatient basis at Victoria Hospital.
Published – December 25, 2025 03:29 pm IST
