Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) | Kerala Transport Minister C P John on Saturday said the government would examine whether KSRTC employees were being made to work excessively long hours without adequate rest following an accident in Karnataka in which a driver and conductor were killed.

Arun N M and Midilesh K, the driver and conductor of a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation bus from Kozhikode, died in the accident at Bidadi on the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway on Saturday morning.

Fourteen passengers were injured in the accident.

"Whether they are being made to work for long hours without rest is a serious question," John said at a press conference.

He said the Transport Commissioner would conduct a post-crash inquiry into the accident within five days.

"Whenever any accident occurs, a post-crash inquiry is conducted. It is a Standard Operating Practice," John said.

He said two KSRTC employees from the Kozhikode depot had lost their lives in the accident.

"I have been receiving information that these bus employees are not getting sufficient rest. I spoke to the KSRTC Managing Director. The issue of working hours and rest will also be reviewed in the next two or three days," he said.

John thanked the Karnataka government for its assistance following the accident.

"I express my gratitude to the Karnataka government. The Transport Minister and Health Department of Karnataka intervened in our matter with the same diligence and care they would show for a bus from their own state," he said.

He said he had coordinated with the CMO and the office of AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, who had also intervened in the matter.

"Their ministers called me directly. The post-mortem procedures and related formalities are currently underway there," John said.

He said KSRTC would bear the full treatment expenses of all passengers injured in the accident.

"If anyone gets any information or faces any difficulties, please inform my office or KSRTC directly. We have been actively involved in all necessary arrangements right from 7 am today, immediately following the incident," he said.

Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan said he had spoken to Karnataka Health Minister U T Khader and requested that the injured in the KSRTC bus accident be provided the best possible treatment.

Satheesan contacted Khader over the phone and sought details about the health condition of those injured in the accident, the CMO said.