Date:23/05/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/05/23/stories/2006052322930100.htm

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Seven die as train rams tipper near Haveri

Staff Correspondent

The tipper got stuck on the railway track even as the train was approaching it

SMASHED TO PIECES: The wreckage of a tipper which was hit by Janashatabdi Express at an unmanned level-crossing near Haveri on Monday.

HAVERI: Seven persons, including two girls and a teenaged boy, were killed on the spot and one was severely injured in an accident involving a tipper and the Bangalore-Hubli Janashatabdi Express at an unmanned level-crossing near here on Monday.

The names of victims were given as Mariyavva Hanumanthappa Petappanavar (40), Shantavva Mayappa Petappanavar (20), Nagaraj Mayannavar (16), Nirmala Chikkappa Hanchinmani (25), Kalpana Chikkappa Hanchimani (4), Shantavva Shankrappa Lamani (22) and Savita Shankrappa Lamani (10), all residents of Chatra village near Byadgi. The driver of the tipper Hanumanthappa Lamani (37), a resident of Kakol village near Byadgi, has sustained head injuries and has been admitted to Chigateri Hospital in Davangere.

The tipper was carrying "hot mix" (tar) for road repair work at Shikaripur in Shimoga district. The victims had boarded the vehicle to go to Byadgi, the officials said.

According to eyewitnesses, the driver tried to get his vehicle across the level-crossing even as the train was approaching it. But the vehicle got stuck on the railway track. While the tipper portion of the vehicle overturned at the same place, the driver's cabin was dragged for 30 metres. The bodies of the victims were found scattered along that stretch.