Karnataka: Child among four dead in Sabarimala pilgrims’ accident in Tumakuru

Four pilgrims, including a six-year-old girl, were killed and seven others injured when their vehicle rammed into a parked truck while returning from Sabarimala near Tumakuru in Karnataka early on Friday

Bengaluru: In a tragic incident, four pilgrims, including a girl, returning from Sabarimala in Kerala, were killed and seven others were injured in a road accident near the Kora region close to the Vasanthanarasapura Industrial Area in Karnataka’s Tumakuru district on Friday.

According to police, the tragedy occurred when the cruiser vehicle carrying the pilgrims rammed into a parked truck.

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The deceased were identified as six-year-old Sakshi, 30-year-old Venkateshappa, 35-year-old Marathappa, and 40-year-old Gavisiddappa.

The accident occurred while the group was returning from the Sabarimala pilgrimage in Kerala. The injured were shifted to a hospital, and the condition of two of them is critical. Preliminary investigations revealed that 11 pilgrims were travelling in the cruiser.

The victims had left for Sabarimala on January 5. The devotees from two villages had undertaken the pilgrimage. Sakshi, who was studying in Class 1, was visiting Sabarimala for the second time.

The accident occurred at around 4.40 a.m., and all the deceased hailed from Kukanuru in Koppal district.

The incident occurred within the limits of the Kora police station, and further investigation is underway.

On November 24, 2025, four Sabarimala pilgrims were killed after their car, which was allegedly overspeeding, hit the side barrier of a flyover and fell into an underpass in Abbenahalli village, Kolar district, in the early hours. The victims, all friends, were on their way to Sabarimala in Kerala when the accident took place.

The police stated that the overspeeding caused the vehicle to crash into the flyover’s side barrier. The impact was so severe that the car, along with the occupants, fell nearly 100 metres into the underpass, killing them on the spot.

On November 15, 2025, three pilgrims were killed and four others critically injured when a car in which they were travelling crashed into the BC Road Circle near Mangaluru city on the Mangaluru-Bengaluru National Highway in the early hours. According to police, the group was travelling from Peenya in Bengaluru to Udupi Sri Krishna Matha for a pilgrimage.

On March 1, 2025, five pilgrims who were on their way to the Male Mahadeshwara temple in the Chamarajanagara district were killed when the car they were travelling in collided head-on with a truck. The accident occurred at Chikkindumadi in Kollegal taluk. The deceased were on their way to the temple located atop a hill as grand celebrations were underway for Maha Shivaratri.