Two devotees of Lord Ayyappa were hurt in a fire accident in Hubbali and later died from their injuries. This incident happened due to a gas leak. In response, Karnataka’s Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that the families of the deceased will receive a compensation of ₹5 lakh each.

Two of the nine ‘Ayappa Maladharis’ (devotees of Lord Ayyappa), injured in a fire incident in Hubbali on December 23, succumbed to their injuries on Thursday morning at the Karnataka Medical College and Research Institute (KIMS) here, officials said.

The nine Ayyappa devotees had sustained injuries in the fire incident that occurred reportedly due to a gas leak. The remaining seven remain under treatment at KIMS. Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara visited the hospital and enquired about the condition of the devotees injured in the incident.

In a post on X, Parameshwara said that he would request for compensation to be provided to the injured from the Chief Minister’s relief fund. “Ayyappa Maladhari, who was injured in a cooking gas explosion in Sainagar, Hubballi, is receiving treatment and has visited the hospital to inquire about his health. The injured are being treated well by a team of expert doctors. A request will be made to provide compensation from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund,” he said.

Meanwhile, in another incident three people died and nine were injured after a collision between a sugarcane-loaded truck, tour travel vehicle and a bike near Gobbur village in Kalaburagi district in the State on Wednesday. According to the police, the deceased were identified as Vinita (56), Anoop (29) and Basavaraj (40). The injured were shifted to hospital. Kalaburagi Superintendent of Police, A Srinivasulu visited the accident spot to inspect for the cause of the accident.