Six people were killed on the spot and several others injured when the government bus in which they were travelling rammed a trailer lorry on the Chennai–Bengaluru National Highway 4 at Sunguvarchathiram in Kancheepuram district early on Wednesday.
The accident happened when the trailer lorry was waiting to cross the national highway to reach a godown to load the rotor blade of a windmill.
Kancheepuram district police sources said the State government bus (Route No. 528) driven by C.Anbu (38) left the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus, Koyambedu, at 2 a.m and was on its way to Tirupathur in Vellore district. At 3.40 a.m., the bus hit the lorry at Santhavelur village, Sunguvarchathiram.
In the impact, the right side of the bus was ripped apart, resulting in the death of six passengers – R.Sathish (32) of Wallajah in Vellore district, S.Gomathy (47), Teynampet, Chennai, V.Sivasankaran (46), Tirumullaivoyal, Chennai, M.Singaravelu (31), Tiruvotriyur, Chennai, M.Rajavelu (23), Vaniyambadi, Vellore district, and B.Arunachalam (31), Kaattupakkam, Chennai.
The injured bus driver Anbu was rushed to the government district headquarters hospital, Kancheepuram, and shifted to Chengalpattu Medical College Hospital and later referred to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Chennai.
The injured passengers, including Ganesh, son of Gomathy, one of the deceased, Sangeetha, Sathish, Ashok Kumar, Kavitha, Jayalakshmi, Murugaiyan, Thavasi, Pushpanandan, Saravanakumar, Muththaali and Shivaji, are receiving treatment at various hospitals in Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu and Chennai.
