Two persons were killed and 17 others injured when a minibus carrying tourists from Tamil Nadu skidded off the road and fell 150 ft down into a cardamom plantation at Karadipara, near Adimali, on the Kochi-Dhanushkodi National Highway on Monday morning.
The deseased were identified as Salem residents Kannankurissi Damodar, 32; and Pachar road Ilayaperumal Mohanan, 54. The seriously injured were taken to the Government Medical College, Kottayam. Two persons were admitted to the taluk hospital and another two to a private hospital at Adimali.
The Vellathooval police said Damodar died on the spot and Mohanan at a hospital in Kothamangalam.
The tourists, all relatives, were going to Ernakulam after visiting Munnar when the accident occurred at 7.30 a.m. The minibus was completely damaged under the impact of the fall.
The autopsy was conducted at the taluk hospital.