COIMBATORE: As many as 19 people died and 25 others suffered injuries when a speeding container truck rammed a Kerala Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus near Thirumuruganpoondi in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu in the early hours of Thursday. The deceased included the bus driver and five women.
Police said the bus was heading to Ernakulam from Bengaluru. There were 48 passengers in the bus. The accident happened on the Avinashi-Salem bypass around 3.25am.
Police said the container truck, laden with floor tiles, was heading towards Bengaluru from Kochi.
They said the driver of the truck might have slept at the wheels for a few seconds and lost control of the vehicle. The truck hit the median, entered the other side of the road and rammed the bus. Later, the Tirupur police detained truck driver Hemaraj.
P Jordin Xavier, 38, of Nemmara in Palakkad district, who was travelling in the bus, told TOI, " I was in deep sleep when the accident happened. I could not tell exactly what happened. My wife and I escaped with minor injuries. God saved us.”
Jordin had gone to Bengaluru with his wife. She wrote an exam there on Wednesday for a job in Saudi Arabia. They were returning home in the bus.
Siddhu Malawad, 44, of Bengaluru, who was travelling to Ernakulam, said, "I was in deep sleep and heard collision sound. I saw passengers lying dead in the bus. A lot of people were found unconscious. Some people broke the glasses on the side of the bus and rescued the injured people.”
The Kerala police asked relatives of the deceased to contact Palakkad SP G Sivavikram for further assistance. They also released contact numbers - 9497962891, 9497990090, 9497996977.
In Video:At least 20 killed as Bengaluru-Kochi KSRTC bus collides with lorry
Police said the bus was heading to Ernakulam from Bengaluru. There were 48 passengers in the bus. The accident happened on the Avinashi-Salem bypass around 3.25am.
Police said the container truck, laden with floor tiles, was heading towards Bengaluru from Kochi.
They said the driver of the truck might have slept at the wheels for a few seconds and lost control of the vehicle. The truck hit the median, entered the other side of the road and rammed the bus. Later, the Tirupur police detained truck driver Hemaraj.
P Jordin Xavier, 38, of Nemmara in Palakkad district, who was travelling in the bus, told TOI, " I was in deep sleep when the accident happened. I could not tell exactly what happened. My wife and I escaped with minor injuries. God saved us.”
Jordin had gone to Bengaluru with his wife. She wrote an exam there on Wednesday for a job in Saudi Arabia. They were returning home in the bus.
Siddhu Malawad, 44, of Bengaluru, who was travelling to Ernakulam, said, "I was in deep sleep and heard collision sound. I saw passengers lying dead in the bus. A lot of people were found unconscious. Some people broke the glasses on the side of the bus and rescued the injured people.”
The Kerala police asked relatives of the deceased to contact Palakkad SP G Sivavikram for further assistance. They also released contact numbers - 9497962891, 9497990090, 9497996977.
In Video:At least 20 killed as Bengaluru-Kochi KSRTC bus collides with lorry
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