Nine passengers were killed and 15 others injured when State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) bus rammed a trailer lorry near Samayapuram on the Tiruchi-Chennai National Highway on Tuesday night.
The bus was on its way to Nagercoil from Chennai when the accident occurred at Irungalur at around 9.50 p.m.
Police sources said the bus driver was trying to overtake the lorry that was transporting iron sheets when the collision occurred.
The left side of the bus suffered extensive damage leading to the death of nine passengers and several seats of the bus were ripped apart. Blood was seen splattered on the badly damaged seats and pieces of human flesh were found strewn inside the vehicle.
The dead included two women and a boy. Two of the dead were identified as Koteeswari (35) and Annal. The identities of the other dead were not known.
A fleet of ‘108’ ambulances as well as those belonging to private hospitals were immediately pressed into service. Thirteen of the injured have been admitted to two private hospitals in the city and two in the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital here. Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar visited the injured persons. The lorry driver is said to have fled the spot. The accident led to a traffic hold up for nearly an hour. M. Ramasubramani, Inspector-General of Police, who rushed to the spot along with the N.K. Senthamaraikannan, DIG, said nine passengers had died. The bodies were taken to the Mahatma Gandhi Government Hospital.
Several seats of the SETC bus were ripped apart in the accident
