Bantwal: One person died and four others were injured in a serial accident involving two cars and a bus in Manihalla here on Friday.

A E Praveen Joshi, who worked with Mescom (Vitla) and was in one of the cars, is learned to have died in the accident.

Joshi was travelling in his car from Madva Mane in Vagga, while the second car was going from Bantwal to Vagga. The two cars collided forcefully in Manihalla, which is situated within Bantwal Town Municipality limits, said sources.

A KSRTC bus, which was behind the collided cars, hit the vehicles in front too.

The front of Joshi’s car has been shattered due to the impact of the collision. As a result, the people who rushed to help the accident victims had to struggle to get Joshi out of his vehicle. He was admitted to a private hospital in Mangaluru, but failed to respond to the treatment and died, the sources added.

Four passengers, who were in the other car, were injured and have also been admitted to a private hospital in Mangaluru.

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Mangaluru: Several flights operating to Gulf destinations from Mangaluru International Airport will remain cancelled on March 1 amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

The cancellations follow the closure of multiple airspaces after strikes on Iran by Israel and the United States on Saturday. As a precautionary measure, Indian airlines have suspended services to several destinations in the Gulf region.

According to airport sources, the following Air India Express (IX) flights scheduled for March 1 and March 2 have been cancelled due to operational reasons:

IX845 (March 1) – Mangaluru–Jeddah

IX846 (March 1) – Jeddah–Mangaluru

IX817 (March 1) – Mangaluru–Muscat

IX818 (March 1) – Muscat–Mangaluru

IX831 (March 1) – Mangaluru–Dubai

IX832 (March 1) – Dubai–Mangaluru

IX813 (March 1) – Mangaluru–Dubai

IX814 (March 2) – Dubai–Mangaluru

IX841 (March 1) – Mangaluru–Bahrain

IX842 (March 2) – Bahrain–Mangaluru

IX815 (March 1) – Mangaluru–Abu Dhabi

IX816 (March 2) – Abu Dhabi–Mangaluru

Among these, the inaugural Mangaluru–Muscat service also stands cancelled.

IndiGo (6E) has also cancelled the following flights on March 1:

6E1468 (March 1) – Dubai–Mangaluru

6E1467 (March 1) – Mangaluru–Dubai

6E1438 (March 1) – Mangaluru–Abu Dhabi

Air India Express suspends flights to gulf sector till 1 March

Low-cost carrier Air India Express which operates a large network of flights connecting various Indian cities to the Middle East have announced suspended of all its flights until 23:59 hrs on 1 March 2026.

In a statement issued on Saturday evening, the airline said, “Air India Express flights to the Gulf region are suspended till 23:59 hrs on 1 March 2026. Guests are eligible for a free date change or cancellation for travel scheduled till 5 March 2026.”

Meanwhile other airlines also followed suit, Spice Jet, Indigo and Air India urged passengers to check flight status.

 

Budget carrier Akasa Air separately announced that it has suspended all operations to Gulf destinations until March 2, 2026.