At least 10 persons were feared dead as a passenger van, which was carrying about 20 people from Thevaram in Theni district to Virudhunagar, fell into a 50-foot-deep well at Nakkalakottai, near Tirumangalam in Madurai district on Thursday night.
Initial reports indicated that only three passengers were rescued from the well, while others, including a few women, might have been caught inside the van itself or could have suffered multiple injuries or had a fatal end.
Preliminary probe suggested that the family members and relatives had dropped the newly wedded couple from Tuticorin at the in-laws' residence in Thevaram and were returning home. The accident occurred at around 7 p.m. When contacted, the 108 emergency ambulance services manager G. Thanigaivel Murugan said that three vehicles were sent to the spot. So far, three injured persons rescued from the well were rushed to the hospital for treatment.
Madurai Rural Police said that the rescued passengers were in a state of shock and could not divulge much information on how the accident had occurred. However, according to inputs gathered from some passing motorists in the vicinity, the van driver, in a bid to avoid a collision with a vehicle, had lost control and the vehicle fell into the well, in which water was up to 40 feet.
However, another input, which suspected that some stones meant to protect the grains spread on the road side by some farmers may have hit the tyres and toppled the vehicle.Superintendent of Police Asra Garg was at the spot supervising rescue operations. As there was no light in the vicinity, the rescue workers had tough time, reports said. District Collector U. Sagayam also arrived at the spot.
The police gave the names of the injured as Mani (46) of Tuticorin, Madhavan (41) of Virudhunagar and Karuppiah (45) of Pandalkudi, near Aruppukottai in Virudhunagar district. Police investigations revealed the names of other passengers (all inside the van) as Chitravel, Murugammal, Balakrishnan, Aruna, Kailash, Sanjay, Viswa and others including the van driver. Sindhupatti police have registered a case and are investigating.
