Five persons were killed and over 60 passengers suffered injuries after a state government bus reportedly collided with an omnibus head-on while travelling on Chennai-Bengaluru National Highway at Vaniyambadi on Saturday. The mishap took place after the State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) bus allegedly hit the median and collided with the omnibus travelling on the other side of the highway in the wee hours of Saturday, police said, as reported by PTI.
According to a official, the front portion of both the vehicles were completely smashed and police helped the injured to reach the hospitals in 10 ambulances.
While the bus was travelling near Chettiyappanur, State Express Transport Corporation bus headed towards Chennai hit an omnibus from Chennai bound to Bengaluru. Four persons including a woman died on the spot.
The deceased were identified as Rithika (32) of Guduvanchery, Mohammed Firoz (37) of Vaniyambadi, SETC bus driver K Elumalai (47) and B Ajith (25) of Chittoor while the omnibus driver N Syed succumbed later, said police, as per the report.
The injured are currently receiving treatment at Government Medical College Hospital in Vellore and Vaniyambadi Government Hospital in Tirupattur district.
The SETC bus hit the median and collided with the omnibus leading to the mishap at 4 AM, a police official said.
Meanwhile, seven person suffered injuries in a car accident in Kerala on Friday. The car plied pilgrims from Guruvayoor temple.
While the car was traveling from Thiruvananthapuram, the police said that the driver had fallen asleep by mistake.
"The car veered off to the opposite lane and collided with a national permit lorry," they said.
The injured passengers were taken to nearby hospitals and are in stable condition. Fire Service officials had to cut open the car to rescue the driver, according to police.
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