Puttur : As many as 12 people suffered injuries after a KSRTC bus and goods lorry collided at Neerakatte, Bajathur village on Thursday morning.

The injured were identified as are bus driver Narayana Gowda (53), Kiran (23), Basvaraju from Hassan, Pushpavathi (48) from Sakleshpur, her daughter Latha (28), Chakravathi (40), Jayaram from Tumakuru, Abdul Hameed, Kabir, Maimuna, Abdul Rahiman and Suresh (32) from Tiptur. They were rushed to various hospitals.

It is said that the goods lorry was on its way to Mangaluru from Bengaluru while the KSRTC bus was on its way to Bengaluru.

Lorry driver Suresh was caught in the mangled remains of the vehicle and his legs were stuck. Though locals tried to rescue him, there were unable to do so. He was rescued only after a crane arrived and was rushed to a hospital in Mangaluru.

Traffic came to a standstill for nearly two hours after the accident. However, though the lorry and bus were moved from the accident spot, a fight between tipper and lorry drivers over who would move first resulted in another accident and a tipper fell into a drain. This further led to a delay in movement of traffic.

Uppinangady police tried their best to clear the traffic. Circle Inspector Anil Kulkarni assisted the students by taking them to schools and colleges in his jeep.