Krishnagiri: As many as 17 people were killed and 25 others injured in a multiple collision involving a truck, two cars and a private bus in a terrible road mishap in Krishnagiri district on Friday afternoon.
Police said a private bus from here heading towards Malur in Karnataka was rammed in by a truck at Melumalai, on Chennai-Bengaluru national highway, killing 10 males, six females and one girl child.
The sources said that six people died on the spot and others after being taken to the Krishnagiri government hospital. With that, the death toll has increased to 17 so far.
As many as seven among the 25 injured people were given first aid in the Krishnagiri government hospital before they were shifted to other government hospitals in Salem, Dharmapuri and Bengaluru.
The six people who died in the accident were identified as Anjala (30) of Kuttampatti, near Tharamangalam in Salem district, Ganesan (17) of Alasanatham in Hosur of Krishnagiri, Gowramma (40) of Varatanapalli, near Krishnagiri, Mahendiran (40) of Bommidi in Dharmapuri, Nirmala (38) and Maathammal (40), both native of Denkannikottai in Krishnagiri district.
Mahendiran was shifted to the Dharmapuri government hospital but he died on the way, while the ambulance vehicle transporting him was at Kaveripattinam, 15 km from Krishnagiri.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the truck heading towards Krishnagiri from Hosur jumped off the lane after hitting a SUV car while scaling down a low gradient road at the place.
Later, the truck rammed into the private bus moving towards Malur from Krishnagiri. Another car that was tailing stopped after hitting the truck.
Luckily, the occupants in the SUV with Maharashtra registration and another car moving towards Bengaluru from Chennai escaped unhurt. Police believe that the truck driver, who also died in the mishap, was under the influence of the alcohol. Police inferred this from the recovery of the liquor bottles from the mangled remains of the truck, which police searched for the victims during the rescue
operation.
The district collector C. Kathiravan visited the accident spot to review the rescue operation and also came to the Krishnagiri government hospital where the injured people have been admitted.
