Three killed in road accident near Chatrakudi

The vehicles which had a head-on collision near Thapal Chavadi in Ramanathapuram district on Sunday.

RAMANATHAPURAM

In a tragic incident, three people including an aged woman died in a road accident when the vehicle in which they were travelling, collided head-on with a tourist van from Karnataka at Thapal Chavadi near here in the early hours of Sunday.

Police said that Haja Shahul Hameed (52) of Keelakarai was heading to Madurai airport in an omni van with his family members, including his wife Rubeena, daughter Rahmath Fatima, son Inaaz and mother-in-law Shahjahan Beevi. The van was driven by Ahmad Hassan of Keelakarai.

As the van was approaching Thapal Chavadi, it had a head-on collision with a tourist van from Kolar in Karnataka that was heading to Rameswaram on a pilgrimage.

In the impact of the accident, Haja Shahul Hameed, Shajahan Beevi and the driver died on the spot. Six people, including three from the tourist van, suffered multiple injuries.

Police rushed the injured people to the Government Hospital at Ramanathapuram.

Preliminary inquiries revealed that Shahul Hameed was proceeding to Kuwait and had left home in the van in the early hours. Poor visibility might have led to the accident.

As the four-way lane road works are under way on the stretch, the drivers might have erred on the wrong side, a police officer, who visited the accident spot, told reporters. Chatrakudi police have registered a case.