Four killed as car plunges into quarry

The incident, however, came to light several hours later on Monday morning when some locals alerted the police.

Police recovering the car that fell into the abandoned quarry near Mamala in Tripunithura.– Photo: H.Vibhu

Four members of a family including two kids died when their car plunged into a 300-metre deep stone quarry located by the side of the Kochi-Dhanushkodi National Highway near Saasthamugal in Tripunithura, late on Sunday. The deceased were identified as Viju.V.V,41, a resident of Mailamkombu near Thodupuzha, his wife Sheeba Viju, 36, seven-year-old Meenakshi and four-year-old Soorya. They had gone to Kochi for a picnic and were returning home when the accident took place.

Viju, originally hailing from Senapathy in Idukki, was working as an Assistant Engineer with the Kerala Water Authority. Sheeba was the managing partner of Adithya Constructions in Thodupuzha. Police said the accident took place at around 11 p.m when the ill-fated vehicle, a Tata Safari, rammed into the fencing of the abandoned quarry and nose-dived into its water-filled gorge. The incident, however, came to light several hours later on Monday morning when some locals alerted the police.

“It was around 8.30 a.m when a vegetable vendor, who was on his way to the shop, saw the barricade broken and the body of a woman floating in the water’’, officials said. On an alert by locals, police rushed to the spot and commenced efforts to extricate the remaining bodies with the support of the fire and rescue department. The police are yet to ascertain the exact cause of the accident. “The car driver might have taken a deviation to the road leading to the quarry, mistaking it as an alternative route to reach Thodupuzha and veered into the gorge’’, said Radahakrishnan, sub-inspector of police.

The police have confirmed that the victims had contacted their family members about 15 minutes before the accident after reaching Kakkanadu.

Officials also pointed to the possibility of Biju, who was driving the vehicle, dozing off and plunging the vehicle into the quarry. Interestingly, some of the locals reportedly heard the sound of the car plunging into the quarry. They, however, mistook it as the sound of dumping waste from abattoirs and hotels in the city , a usual practice here in dark.