Coimbatore: 8 of family drown as car plunges into PAP canal

Coimbatore: Eight persons of a family drowned in the PAP canal near Pollachi during the early hours of Wednesday, as their car went out of control, and fell into the canal while negotiating a narrow bridge.

Police said, Prakash (46), a cable TV operator, was a resident of Masakalipalayam in Coimbatore. He and his family and relatives had started on a trip to Palani temple on Tuesday night.

After dharshan, they were returning to Coimbatore and Prakash was driving the car. Around 1 am on Wednesday, while the car was approaching the PAP canal, Prakash allegedly should have applied sudden brakes realizing that the width of the bridge was very narrow. But, the speeding vehicle went out of control and after hitting the side wall of the bridge, plunged into the canal, drowning its occupants in 20 feet deep water.

Motorists passing the stretch on Wednesday morning, noticed a portion of the car immersed in water and informed the Komangalam police and Pollachi fire station.

After 90 minutes of struggle, the car was pulled out with the help of a crane, and the bodies of Prakash, his wife Chithra (40), daughter Pooja (8), Prakash’s sisters Latha (50), Sumathi (48) and her daughter Dharani (10) were retrieved. The bodies of three-year-old Nanthana and Kaviarasu (9), were washed away in the running water.

The six bodies were sent to the Pollachi government hospital for post-mortem, while efforts are on to retrieve the bodies of the two children washed away in the water. Komangalam police have registered a complaint and are investigating.

It is alleged that in a span of 12 months, 12 persons had lost their lives in the same place. Few months back, four persons from Kerala drowned in the same place, after their car spun out of control in the narrow bridge, as they were returning from Moonar. Locals have time and again demanded widening of the bridge to avoid mishaps.