Kasaragod: Kasaragod Assistant Collector Dilip K Kainikkara and his gunman Ranjith were injured when their car crashed after a somersault while trying to avoid another vehicle. Driver Gopalan escaped unhurt.

The accident happened at Chemnad Jama-ath Higher Secondary School junction on the Kanhangad-Kasaragod coastal highway, said police.

According to reports, Kainikkara, an IAS probationer and native of Changanacherry, fractured his left shoulder and injured his back in the accident. He and Ranjith, a native of Cheruvathur, are being treated at Kasaragod General Hospital.

They were returning in the official car, an SUV, after attending the inauguration of the second phase digital survey at Bara village and a Tourism Day event at Thanchangad near Bekal. When the SUV neared the school junction, another car entered the highway from a pocket road, forcing Gopalan to apply sudden brakes to avoid a collision. The car somersaulted once and landed on the wheels in the impact.

They were taken to the General Hospital, 6km away. Collector Inbasekar K and other senior officials called on the two at the hospital. Kainikkara joined the Kasaragod collectorate in July.