Six persons, including five members of a family, lost their lives in an accident involving a Wayanad-bound private bus and a jeep at Kaithappoyil, near Adivaram, in the district on Saturday.
Three of the dead were children. They were coming back to their house at Koduvally after a Wayanad trip with their parents and grandparents.
The police identified the victims as V.V. Abdurahiman, 63; his wife Subaida Abdurahiman, 52; their grandchildren Mohammed Nishan, 8; Fathima Hana, 6; and one-year-old Jasa Abdul Majeed. Pramod, a Wayanad native and driver of the jeep, was also killed in the incident.
Heavy rain
Witnesses said the Wayanad-bound bus rammed the jeep around 2.30 p.m. The bus driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle as the road leading to the Thamarassery ghat was slippery following heavy rain. The jeep was crushed in the impact of the collision. Another car on the route was also trapped in between the two vehicles.
Of the eight persons who suffered injuries, six belonged to the family that travelled by the jeep.
Shajahan, 35; his wife Haseena; sister Safeena; and niece Nuya, 13; were among those injured from the family. Some of them were admitted to the Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital in a critical condition.
By the time the police and Fire and Rescue Services personnel reached the accident spot, the local rescue teams had taken out the victims and rushed them to the nearby hospitals.
