Five persons, including three women and a six-month-old baby boy, were killed and 22 others injured when a TNSTC bus had a head-on collision with a van at Kurukkalpatti near Sankarankovil in the district on Saturday night. Police said a group from Rajapalayam were returning home in a van after offering prayers in a temple at Chettiyapaththu near Udankudi in Tuticorin district. When they reached Chinnakovilankulam near Kurukkalpatti on the Tirunelveli–Sankarankovil highway, the speeding bus, going from Sankarankovil to Kanyakumari collided with their vehicle, killing Shanthi (26), her six-month-old son Karthikeyan, relatives F. Gnanasekaran (35), N. Selva Vadivu and S. Selvi (25), all from Rajapalayam, on the spot.
The injured, occupants of the bus and the van, were rushed to hospitals. Police found that farmers, who had harvested black gram, heaped the dry plant on the road for thrashing and covered it with tarpaulin in the night. As they had kept granite boulders on the tarpaulin, both the drivers had failed to notice the black gram heap on the road.
When they noticed the huge obstacle on a portion of the road, it was too late. As the van driver swerved to his right to avoid hitting the heap, the vehicle dashed against the bus.
