Mysore : Nine persons were killed and 11 others injured when a van carrying them collided with a truck transporting LPG cylinders between Kampalapura and Chilkunda in Periyapatna taluk about 55 km from Mysore on Wednesday.

The accident took place at around 5.30 a.m. and the victims all from Deralakatte in Mangalore were returning from a visit to the Muthupet dargah in Tiruvarur disrict of Tamil Nadu.

The victims belonged to a party of 20 from two families. The condition of three of the injured is said to be serious and the injured are being treated at Apollo BGS Hospital and Bhanavi Hospital in Mysore.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Dhananjay told The Hindu that preliminary inquiries indicate that the tempo driver must have dozed off after driving through the night resulting in the accident. The identity of victims is being ascertained as the police were awaiting the arrival of other family members from Mangalore.

On receiving information of the accident, residents from Periyapatna rushed to the spot and volunteered to shift the injured to Mysore. The victims were first brought to the K.R. Hospital. The volunteers, however, insisted that the injured be shifted to private hospitals citing delay and lack of facilities in the hospital.

Javed Ahmed from Periyapatna said he was returning from the mosque after prayers at around 6.15 a.m. when he heard about the accident and rushed to the hospital where the victims had already been brought from the accident site. But in view of the serious nature of the injuries all the 11 were shifted to Mysore, he said.