Three persons were killed in a head-on collision between a tanker, carrying bitumen, and a lorry, loaded with LPG cylinders, on NH206 near Aiginabailu in Sagar taluk of the district early on Saturday.

The police have identified the deceased as Sachin, 25, driver of the tanker who hails from Kushalnagar in Kodagu district; Malakappa, 26, tanker cleaner from Talikote in Vijayapura district, and Lokesh, 42, driver of the lorry from Kavalathi village in Shikaripur taluk.

Umesh, cleaner of the lorry, who sustained serious injuries has been admitted to a private hospital in Shivamogga.

The lorry was moving from Shivamogga to Sagar and the tanker was heading in the opposite direction.

The front portion of the lorry was completely mangled and it toppled under the impact of the collision. Even the front portion of the tanker was also smashed in the incident.

The police had to use gas cutters to remove the bodies from the damaged vehicles.

Traffic along the NH was disrupted for sometime owing to the mishap.

K.A. Dayanand, Deputy Commissioner visited the spot. The residents of Aiginabailu told him that, the dangerous curves here make the road prone for accidents.

They requested him to take measures to solve the problem.