Seven persons were killed and three others injured in an accident involving an SUV and a lorry at K. Pettai near Kulithalai on Saturday.
Sources said the accident occurred when the Sports Utility Vehicle in which they were travelling collided with the lorry going to Tiruchi from Karur. The victims were returning to Kasaragod in Kerala after visiting Velankanni in Nagapattinam district.
Before ramming the lorry, the SUV knocked down a two-wheeler at Thimmachipuram near Kulithalai in which one person was injured.
On information, police personnel from Lalapettai and Kulithalai and ambulances rushed to the spot and took the injured to the government hospital in Kulithalai.
According to police, there were 11 passengers in the SUV. Five of them were killed on the spot and two others died of injuries at the government hospital in Kulithalai.
The names of the dead were given as Rohit (22), Jerald (52), Sandrin (40), Sanano (10), Reema (30), Albin (29) and Precilla (45). Rohit was driving the SUV.
Three persons, who sustained severe injuries, were referred to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital in Tiruchi. Lalapettai police are investigating.