Three Sabarimala pilgrims, all from Tamil Nadu, were killed and 14 others injured, four of them seriously, when the carriage in which they were travelling lost control and ran into the crowd at the private parking yard at Erumeli in the early hours of Monday.
According to witnesses, the carriage which was parked in the parking area was taken out to bring pilgrims from Pampa when it lost control
and ran into the crowd. Nearly a dozen vehicles parked in the area were damaged.
The dead were identified as Devaguru, 40, Ellappan, 38, and Subrahmonian, 36, all from Villivakkam near Chennai. Two others have been admitted to the Kottayam Government Medical College. Twelve persons who were injured in the accident were discharged after first aid at the Erumeli and Kanjirapally government hospitals.
According to the police, the carriage had arrived from Kasaragod and had been parked in the yard after dropping the pilgrims at Pampa. Both the driver and cleaner of the carriage also suffered injuries and are under treatment.
The police have registered a case.