Mishap kills 5 Infosys freshers

Five trainees of software major Infosys Technologies were killed and 40, including 38 from Infosys, injured in an accident when their Volvo bus met with an accident on the Bangalore-Pune National Highway No 4 on Thursday.  Of the injured, six are still critical.

The incident occurred on the Tawandi ghat in the Chikkoda taluka, near Nipani, Belgaum district, and some 50 km from Kolhapur. The bus, belonging to the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), was carrying 43 members of Infosys, who were on their way to Pune after completing their training at Mysore.

Lamenting the tragedy, Mohandas Pai, director (human resources), Infosys, said, “All those travelling by the bus were fresh trainees who were going back to join our Pune office. They were to start their careers at the Pune facility.”

The deceased have been identified as Ankita Vedprakash Arya (22), a native of Delhi, Agnivesh Athidarshan (23) from Bihar, Tushar Agarwal (22) from Agra, Prajwal Malhotra (22) from Uttar Pradesh and Pushpa Mishra (22) from Lucknow. Tushar was brought to the hospital in a critical condition where he passed away.

The injured have been rushed to hospitals in Nipani and Sankeshwar, a town near Nipani. Those who sustained minor injuries have been sent to their respective homes.
The police said the bus (KA-01-F-8438) was travelling at a high speed while coming down the ghats when the driver, Devraj Gowda, while attempting to negotiate a sharp turn, lost control and hit the road divider. So forceful was the impact that the bus rolled over thrice before stopping about 100 feet away from the divider and the front axle and wheels were detached from the bus’s body.

Police officer SR Kulkarni, who visited the spot, said the driver had failed to negotiate the sharp turn. “Unfortunately, there are no signs on the road indicating the turn,” he said.

The overall mood at the Infosys campus at Hinjewadi, Pune, was sombre. “We all are shocked. Most of them were to join our office today. The Mysore campus is our prime training hub and many of us have travelled on the same route. It is unbelievable that something like this has happened,” said an Infosys employee.

An Infosys spokesperson said the 43 people had just completed a training stint at Mysore. “Support teams have been sent to provide necessary help to our employees and their families,” the spokesperson said.