Five persons were killed and nine others injured in a road accident at Tadakoil on the Karur-Dindigul National Highway 7 near here in the early hours of Wednesday.
Police said a State Express Transport Corporation bus from Salem to Rameswaram was parked on the roadside near Valluvar Nagar, Tadakoil, after it broke down and the conductor was helping passengers board some other buses passing the area when a sand-laden lorry from Thottaim to Pallapatti rammed the stationary bus killing four persons on the spot.
The names of the dead were given as K. Thangaraj (48) of Kunjandiyur, Mettur, Salem district, A. Balakrishnan (30) of Valayapatti, Namakkal district, J. Moorthy (29) of Nethimedu, Salem, and K. Asif Sultan (40) of Thirupullani, Ramanathapuram district. The bus was drawn several feet due to the impact and in which several people were injured. One of them A. Thangaraj (61) of Thondikkadu, Namakkal district, was first rushed to a private hospital in Karur and then referred to Coimbatore as his condition turned critical. He died en route to the hospital taking the toll to five.
Nine persons including two women sustained injuries and were being treated at private hospitals in Karur. Police have arrested the lorry driver Kalimuthu (40) and he was also among the injured. Aravakurichi DSP Baskaran who was on his rounds in the vicinity at the time of the accident arranged for relief and rescue of the victims. Further investigations are underway.
