Five Ayyappa devotees from Andhra Pradesh were killed when the car in which they were travelling hit a stationary container lorry near Sattur in the small hours of Thursday. Six others who were injured have been admitted to the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai.
Police said the accident took place when the devotees, who hail from Rangareddy district, were returning home after visiting Sabarimala. The vehicle speeding on the Tirunelveli-Madurai Four-lane Highway rammed into the truck near N. Subbiahapuram junction at around 3 a.m.
“The truck was parked on the extreme left side of the road. Probably, the driver had fallen asleep and lost control of the vehicle,” the Virudhunagar Superintendent of Police, S. Prabhakaran, said.
In the impact, four of them – S. Palraj (26), S. Mahesh (25), K. Sai (16) and P. Seenu (22) – were killed on the spot. Their bodies have been kept at the Sattur Government Hospital.
Another pilgrim, S. Narendar (25), died on the way to the Government Rajaji Hospital.
Among the injured are the car driver V. Raju Gowd (32), N. Ashok (23), P. Lakshmiah (25), S. Mahendar (23), S. Anjeneya and P. Ravinder.
