Two persons died and 26 students were injured when a private bus overturned on National Highway 48 near Aimangala in Hiriyur taluk in the early hours of Friday (August 21, 2026).

The driver, Guruprasad, and the cleaner, Shankar, died on the spot. The injured were shifted to Chitradurga.

The bus was carrying about 56 students of Universal Nursing College, Arekere, Bannerghatta, who were returning to Bengaluru after a trip to Goa, when the accident occurred around 5.30 a.m.

Senior police officers, including Chitradurga Superintendent of Police (SP) Ranjith Kumar Bandaru, visited the spot. Police suspect the driver’s negligence caused the accident — he reportedly lost control of the vehicle, which then toppled into a roadside drain.