Four persons, including a bus conductor, were killed when a State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) bus rammed a tipper lorry on the Tiruchi-Madurai Bypass Road near Mannarpuram in the city in the early hours of Monday. The accident occurred around 4.20 a.m. when the bus was on its way to Madurai from Chennai. The victims were all occupants of the bus.
The conductor of the bus, M. Thangavel (54), and passengers G. Senthilrani (40) and M. Saravani (45) died on the spot, while another woman passenger, G. Poomari (40), succumbed a few hours later at Mahatma Gandhi Government Hospital in the city. Thirteen passengers sustained injuries in the accident. According to police sources, the driver of the tipper lorry applied sudden brake, following which the bus that was coming behind, hit the goods carrier.
The lorry was bound for Keeranur in Pudukottai district from Neyveli and its driver went straight instead of taking right. He applied brake on sudden realisation and was about to take a right turn when the bus hit it. Lorry driver K. Veeramani (32) has been named as the accused.