Five persons were missing after a pickup van with nine persons on board crashed through the railing of the Kumbalam-Aroor bridge near here and plunged into the backwaters on Wednesday around 6.30 p.m.
Except for the driver, who was a Malayali and was among those missing, all were migrants from Nepal working for a firm engaged in decoration and pandal works. They were on their way from Bolghatty to Panavalli in Alappuzha when the accident occurred.
Four of the migrants, who knew swimming, were helped to the shore by local residents engaged in fishing. They were admitted to a nearby hospital. There were reports that the accident occurred while the driver was trying to overtake a lorry on the bridge.
“We don’t have any confirmation as yet whether the vehicle concerned had a brush with any other vehicle as a result of which the driver lost control, leading to the accident. The possibility of overspeeding is also doubtful as the rush hour traffic provides little room for it,” said Prajeesh Sasi, sub inspector of police, Panangadu.
However, according to one of the migrants who was rescued, the ill-fated vehicle brushed against another, resulting in the accident. Varun, an eyewitness who was out walking, said that the vehicle was speeding and he was alerted to the accident by the sound of the vehicle crashing against the railing.
Tripunithura MLA M. Swaraj; Ernakulam Range Inspector General of Police S. Sreejith; and City Police Commissioner M.P. Dinesh reached the spot soon after the incident and monitored the rescue operations.
A four-member scuba team of the fire and rescue department from Muvattupuzha, along with a couple of local divers, was engaged in a search and rescue operation late into the night. The assistance of the Navy was also sought.
