Seven killed as bus falls off road

Passengers from Karnataka were on their way to attend a wedding in Kasaragod

The site where a tourist bus fell on a house at Kanhangad-Panathur on Sunday.

Seven persons, including two children and two women, were killed and 49 others injured when a tourist bus overturned at Kanhangad-Panathur here on Sunday noon. The passengers were on their way from Sullia in Karnataka to Panathur to attend a wedding.

The bus, which had around 70 people, fell off the road onto a house around 12.30 p.m. The deceased were identified as Rajesh, 45, of Belnad; Ravichandra, 40; Seshma, 39, of Sullia; Shreyas, 13, of Arthamulla; Sasidhara Pujari, 43, of Bantwal; Sumathi, 50; and Adarsh, 14, of Puthur. Sasidhara Pujari succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Mangaluru. Six bodies have been kept at the Kanhangad district hospital. All the injured have been shifted to hospitals in Mangaluru.

No one in house

The bus, coming down a slope, careened off the road and plunged on top of a house below the road. The house, belonging to Jose, was damaged.

There was no one in the house at the time of the accident. Eyewitnesses said the bus was speeding. Local people rushed the injured to hospitals. Soon, Fire and Rescue Services and police personnel from Kuttikol and Kanhangad joined the rescue operation.

District Collector D. Sajith Babu said the Kanhangad Subcollector would investigate the accident. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Transport Minister A.K. Saseendran expressed their condolence.