Three people were killed and 10 sustained injuries when a KSRTC bus collided with a container lorry near the Ithikkara bridge at Kottiyam on Monday.
The KSRTC super express from Mananthavady was on its way to Thiruvananthapuram when the head-on collision took place around 6.45 a.m. Bus driver Abdul Azees (47) and conductor T.P. Subhash (38), both natives of Kozhikode, died on the spot.
It took nearly two hours to extricate lorry driver Ganeshan (34) from the vehicle. Though he was rushed to a private hospital in Kottiyam, he could not be saved.
Ganeshan, a native of Shenkottai, was transporting sand dust from Tirunelveli. Traffic was disrupted on the national highway for hours following the accident.
Among the passengers injured, six sustained serious injuries. They were admitted to various private hospitals nearby and the Kollam district hospital. Transport Minister A.K. Saseendran, Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty Amma and KSRTC Managing Director Tomin J. Thachankary visited the injured at the hospitals.
CCTV visuals
The visuals from a CCTV installed near the spot showed the KSRTC bus going off the track and colliding with the lorry that came in the opposite direction. According to police officials, the KSRTC driver might have dozed off and lost control causing the accident.