Three members of a family were killed and 15 others were injured after a truck rammed into a State Transport Corporation bus and hit passengers crossing the Hosur-Krishnagiri national highway near Shoolagiri on Monday.
According to police, the incident occurred around 3.45 a.m. when the tyre of the Thiruvanamalai-bound TNSTC bus from Bengaluru burst while crossing Sundagiri near Shoolagiri and rammed into the median. However, 40 passengers, who were in the bus, escaped unhurt.
Immediately, the passengers alighted from the bus and were crossing the highway. Another State Transport Corporation bus that was Salem bound from Bengaluru came to a halt on seeing the passengers stranded on the highway. A truck that was speeding behind the Salem-bound SETC bus unable to slow down rammed into the SETC bus and hit the passengers crossing the highway.
The deceased were identified as Anisha (32), her son Mohammed Suhail (14) and her daughter Maithunisha alias Pappunisha (10) of Agarampalli near Thandarampattu in Thiruvanamalai died on the spot. Anisha’s husband Kamal Basha and his son Nissar (8) and 13 others, including the driver and the conductor of the bus, suffered injuries. They were rushed to the Krishnagiri Government Hospital. The accident disrupted the highway for a few hours.
Shoolagiri police have registered a case.