In a gruesome mishap, four passengers of a packed autorickshaw, including two boys and an 18-year old girl were killed and as many as ten people sustained grievous injuries in a
head-on collision involving a bus at Poochakad on the busy Kanhangad-Kasaragod State Highway near here on Wednesday, police said.
The shocking mishap occurred around 11.30 am, when the speeding private bus proceeding to Kanhangad from Kasaragod collided against the autorickshaw proceeding towards Bekal with ten occupants, while trying to overtake another vehicle, killing the four while inflicting critical wounds on ten others, including six occupants of the crowded autorickshaw, police, quoting eyewitness sources, said.
The authorickshaw, that got completely damaged in the mishap was dragged for nearly 500 metres after it got hooked in the front portion of the bus before turning turtle many a times with its occupants getting seriously bruised in the mishap, they said.
The tragedy occurred after family members were returning home after visiting a house at Malamkunnu near Palakunnu where they had gone to attend a marriage function.
The deceased were identified as Shibithi alias Monutan (4), residents of nearby Ajanur beach locality, Mahith (4), Anjitha (18), also residing in the same locality and autorickshaw driver Ratheesh (28).
While two persons died on the spot, the other two succumbed on way to hospital, they said adding that of the ten injured, six were occupants of the autorickshaw. The injured persons were identified as Sheeba, Mini, Chithrangadan, Archana, Ramya, Ramitha.
Four women injured in the mishap were travelling in the bus.
