At least five persons, including a woman, were killed and about 60 passengers injured when a state government bus and an omnibus collided head-on on the Chennai-Bengaluru national highway in the wee hours of Saturday.
The incident took place at around 4 AM at Chettiyappanur near Tirupattur district.
The front portion of the two vehicles were completely smashed. Four persons including a woman were killed initially when the State Express Transport Corporation bus proceeding to Chennai from Bengaluru collided with the Bengaluru-bound omnibus from Chennai.
A police official said the SETC bus hit the median and collided with the omnibus leading to the mishap.
Rithika (32) of Guduvanchery, Mohammed Firoz (37) of Vaniyambadi, SETC bus driver K Elumalai (47) and B Ajith (25) of Chittoor died on the spot while the omnibus driver N Syed succumbed to his injuries later.
Police rushed to the spot and the injured were sent to hospitals in about ten ambulances, said an official.
The injured were admitted to the Vaniyambadi government hospital in Tirupattur district and the Government Medical College Hospital in Vellore.