Man dies as pickup van carrying Ganesh idol overturns near Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: A man died when a pickup van carrying a 3.5-foot-high Lord Ganesh idol overturned at Pungamapalaym near Karamadai in Coimbatore district on Friday night. As many as 19 others who were travelling on the vehicle suffered minor injuries.
The deceased has been identified as K Ramesh, 25, a construction worker in Karamadai.
More than 200 idols were taken from Karamadai and surrounding areas to the river Bhavani to immerse them there.
Hindu Munnani organisation took an idol in a pickup van from Karamadai to Mettupalayam and 19 people were travelling on the pickup van. R Pradeep alias Babu, 26, of Karamadai, drove the vehicle. When the vehicle reached Pungampalayam area, the vehicle overturned after a wheel hit a roadside pothole. Ramesh died on the spot. The injured were sent to nearby hospitals.