39 feared killed as bus plunges into lake

By Our Staff Reporter

DHARMAPURI, DEC. 13. Thirty nine persons of a marriage party were feared killed in a bizarre road accident when the bus in which they were proceeding to Tiruvannamalai hit a lorry and capsized into a lake at Singarapettai near Uthangkarai on Wednesday.

Around 17 bodies including that of two children have been recovered so far while a search is on for the other bodies. Efforts are also on to pull out the bus which had completely submerged into the lake.

Police said the bus carrying the marriage party from Tiptur village in Tumkur district in Karnataka was proceeding to Tiruvannamalai when it hit the sugarcane laden lorry coming in the opposite direction and plunged into the roadside lake called Periya Eri.

A total of 56 persons, all relatives of the bridegroom, were in the bus when the mishap occurred. Barring 17 persons who had swam to safety with minor injuries, the rest were caught in the bus. Since the bus had remained submerged under water for over two hours the chances of any further survivors have been ruled out. The 17 survivors have been lodged at the Uthangkarai Travellers Bungalow.

Since the recovery vans pressed into service from Dharmapuri and Tiruvannamalai were not effective in pulling out the bus, cranes from quarries in Harur and Mathur have been summoned, and only after which the exact number of persons killed in the accident could be ascertained.

Mr. V. Mullaivendan, Minister for Information and Publicity, visited the accident spot and held enquiries. Mr. K. Balachandran, district Collector, and Mr. M. N. Manjunatha, SP, were present at the spot organising the relief operations.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Southern States
Previous : CEOs to meet on Dec. 21
Next     : Jayalalitha moves HC on Special Court order