Of the 48 passengers in the bus, 19 died on the spot and remaining sustained injuries.
At least 20 people were killed when a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation bus collided head-on with a container lorry near Tamil Nadu's Avinashi town in Tirupur district, 40 kms from Coimbatore, on February 20, officials told news agency PTI.
The bus was going to Thiruvananthapuram from Bengaluru, while the lorry was coming from the opposite direction on the Coimbatore-Salem Highway when the mishap occurred at 4.30 am, police said
Of the 48 passengers in the bus, 20 died on the spot and the remaining sustained injuries. Procedures to identify the deceased are in progress.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has instructed District Collector of Palakkad to provide emergency medical care to the victims of the accident.
All possible relief measures will be taken in cooperation with the government of Tamil Nadu and the District Collector of Tirupur, reported news agency ANI quoting the Chief Minister’s Office of Kerala.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish over the loss of lives and hoped the injured recover soon.
"Extremely anguished by the bus accident ... In this hour of grief, my thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families. I hope those who are injured recover at the earliest," the Prime Minister's Office said in a tweet quoting Modi.Exclusive offer: Use code "BUDGET2020" and get Moneycontrol Pro's Subscription for as little as Rs 333/- for the first year.
