Karnataka bus accident: Three friends, one trip, and a fire that changed everything | Bengaluru News

Bengaluru: They shared a paying guest accommodation in Bengaluru, travelled together whenever work allowed, and spent long evenings talking about careers, weddings and the lives they were building far from home. But fate had other plans when AM Navya, 26, HC Manasa, 27, and Milana Narayanamurthy, 26, decided to take a short break together and go on a trip to Sigandur temple near Sagar in Shivamogga district. They boarded the sleeper-coach bus Wednesday night hoping for spiritual solace and a pause from their demanding work lives in the city, but two of them did not make it out of the vehicle alive. While Navya and Manasa were burnt to death in the crash, Milana survived and is grappling with the loss of her two good friends. Navya and Manasa were more than roommates or colleagues. They had studied together at Malnad Engineering College in Hassan, earned their MTech degrees in Bengaluru, and found jobs as software engineers at companies located in Manyata Tech Park. Milana, who had also studied engineering at the same college, completed the trio. Their friends said the three women did almost everything together — commuting, travelling home, celebrating birthdays and festivals, and dreaming out loud about the future. Both Navya and Manasa were brides-to-be. Manasa’s wedding preparations were already under way. For Navya, the countdown had begun, with her wedding scheduled for April 28 and 29. Navya’s father, Manjappa, an agriculturist and hotelier from Ankanahalli village in Channarayapatna taluk of Hassan district, struggled to comprehend the loss. “Her engagement was already done. We had almost completed 80% of the wedding preparations. The wedding hall was booked, jewellery was bought… but now I don’t even have my daughter,” he said, breaking down. He recalled speaking to Navya just hours before her fateful bus journey.“Yesterday around seven in the evening, Navya spoke to me and my wife. She told us she was going to Sigandur temple with her friends Manasa and Milana,” he said. “In the morning, Milana called saying their bus had met with an accident. She was injured but safe. There was no news of Navya and Manasa. Their mobile phones were switched off.”Like many parents of the victims, Manjappa spent frantic hours searching for information, clinging to hope until police confirmed the worst: Navya was among the dead. At the Hiriyur taluk hospital, Milana remained largely silent, relatives said. Those who saw her said the shock and grief had rendered her unable to speak.