Team Mangalorean - Bangalore
from Shweta Somaya

Bangalore: Six members of a family from the city died in a collision between an oil tanker and a car at Mudigere cross near Mulbagal, a taluk headquarters in Kolar district on Saturday, June 23 morning.

Puttavenkateshaiah (73), his wife Pushpaleela (68), son Aravind Kumar (35), daughter-in-law Reena (30) and grandchildren Nisha (11) and Nitish (7), hailing from Kumaraswamy layout here,  had left for Tirupati on pilgrimage in their own car on Saturday morning. As they reached the Mudigere cross in Mulbagal taluk, an oil tanker plying from Andhra to Gowribidanur rammed into the car. All the six in the car reportedly died on the spot.

The police and the firemen had to struggle to extricate the bodies stuck inside the mangled vehicle, even using heavy equipment. The oil tank ended with holes and the diesel storage leaked in streams.

The tragedy apart, the locals had a field day collecting the free fuel in buckets and any containers they had handy. A stampede was created and the national highway 4 was blocked for some time.

The driver of the tanker has been absconding.