Five persons were killed after the car they were travelling in collided with a mini-lorry on Salem-Kochi Highway near Sulur in Coimbatore on Saturday.
The police identified the deceased as Muhammed Basheer (42) from Vallapuzha in Palakkad district, Kerala, Gouranga Pandit (30), his brother Mithun Pandit (27), and Lalita Mondal (31) from South 24 Parganas district, and Hiralal Sikari (28) from North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal.
The accident took place at Vellalore Pirivu near Sulur around 5 a.m. when the car was heading to Salem, said the police. Basheer was driving the car.
The car collided with the mini-lorry that had Sathish Kumar (25) from Tiruchi at the wheel. The mini-lorry was heading towards Palakkad. The front portion of the car was completely damaged in the impact of the collision.
While two persons were killed on the spot, three others with grievous injuries were taken out from the car.
Of the three injured, one was rushed to a nearby private hospital, and two were taken to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, where they died.
Sulur Police have registered a case against lorry driver Sathish Kumar.
