They were a few minutes from the temple. That detail, from the Deccan Chronicle, is the cruelest one in an accident that killed six people on National Highway-50 near the Tungabhadra dam on Friday, May 15, 2026.
The group were devotees heading to the Huligemma temple in Koppal district, riding together on a tractor. Police say a speeding tanker lorry hit the tractor from behind on a bridge close to the border of Karnataka’s Vijayanagar and Koppal districts. ETV Bharat and the Deccan Chronicle both reported that the tractor went over the side of the bridge, the Deccan Chronicle adding that it dropped into a gorge. The New Indian Express described it differently: the tractor overturned at the roadside, leaving several passengers trapped underneath.
Who was on board
The dead included a one-year-old, Bharat, and an 18-year-old, Mahantesh, along with Kenchappa. All came from villages around Kudligi and from Yashwant Nagar in Sandur taluk, in the Ballari area. ETV Bharat said the six belonged to one family. Newspapers disagree on the other names and ages, which is common in the first hours after a crash like this.
The number aboard is also unsettled. Police told the New Indian Express there were 16 people on the tractor; AsiaNet News put it at 19. About ten were hurt, most of them seriously. Locals and police pulled the injured out and took them to government hospitals in Hosapete and Koppal. Two were said to be in critical condition, and ETV Bharat quoted officials warning that the toll could rise.
It did. AsiaNet News reported that a 16-year-old girl, Maya, from Marlanahalli village in Kudligi taluk, died of her injuries at Koppal District Hospital, making seven dead.
Arrest and compensation
Ballari Range IGP Dr PS Harsha told reporters that the tanker driver is in custody and that a detailed investigation is under way. Police from Vijayanagara and Koppal districts have registered a case; the Deccan Chronicle placed it at Munirabad police station. The bodies were sent to Hosapete Government Hospital for post-mortem examination. S Jahnavi, the Vijayanagar superintendent of police, went to the site and the mortuary.
E Tukaram, the MP for undivided Ballari, visited the injured and spoke by phone with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. “The chief minister agreed to provide Rs 5 lakh compensation from the CM’s Relief Fund to the families of the deceased,” Tukaram said, adding that help for the injured would come from his own MP fund. The government later confirmed the payment.
AsiaNet News also noted early indications that the vehicle was a farm tractor rather than a passenger carrier, and said the families of the victims were poor. The pilgrims had been traveling to the temple for a ritual.
Sources
- Six Of Family Killed, Over 10 Injured As Tractor Falls Off Bridge After Tanker Collision In Karnataka (ETV Bharat)
- Six dead as tanker rams tractor near Tungabhadra Dam in Karnataka (The New Indian Express)
- Koppal: Six Killed As Lorry Rams Tractor On NH-50 (Deccan Chronicle)
- Koppal Tractor Accident: Death Toll Rises To 7 After Girl Succumbs To Injuries, CM Siddaramaiah Expresses Condolences (AsiaNet News via MENAFN)
