At least 19 people were killed and 15 others suffered injuries when a bus in which they were travelling collided with a truck in Tirupur district of Tamil Nadu in the wee hours today, news agency ANI reported. The incident took place on the Coimbatore-Salem Highway in Avinashi town around 3 AM, Deputy Tehsildar said.
The bus collided head-on with a container lorry. There were 48 passengers travelling in the bus. The deceased include six women.
The bus belonged to Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC). The Volvo bus was going to Thiruvananthapuram from Bengaluru in Karnataka when it met with an accident.
According to police, the lorry was coming from the opposite direction when the mishap occurred. Reports suggest that the truck was carrying tiles and marbles. The driver of the truck is among those killed in the mishap.
Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has instructed Palakkad district collector to provide emergency medical care to the victims of the accident, his office said. He has also directed two of his ministerial colleagues to rush to the neighbouring state to coordinate relief operations.
“Transport Minister AK Saseendran and Agriculture Minister VS Sunilkumar have been directed to rush to Tamil Nadu to coordinate relief operations,” the Chief Minister’s Office said in a statement.
“Procedures to identify the deceased are in progress and all possible relief measures will be taken in cooperation with the government of Tamil Nadu and the District Collector of Tirupur,” the CM’s office added.
Transport Minister Saseendran said that the state government will pay for the treatment of the injured passengers. He said that most of the casualties are natives of Palakkad, Thrissur and Ernakulam.
“Senior officials from Kerala State Road Transport Corporation have rushed to the site. KSRTC Managing Director will conduct an inquiry and submit a report,” the Minister said.