A 10-year-old girl was killed and 17 others sustained injuries when a Sabarimala-bound bus carrying pilgrims from Tamil Nadu overturned near Erumely on Friday.
The girl was identified as Sanghamitra, a native of Tambaram near Chennai. The accident occurred around 3.15 p.m. when the driver lost control over the vehicle while negotiating a steep decline on the road near Kannimala on the Erumely-Mundakkayam road. It eventually fell into a 20-foot-deep gorge after hitting the crash barrier.
Two remain critical
As many as 21 persons were on board the vehicle when the accident occurred. The injured were rushed to the district general hospital in Kanjirappally and the Government Medical College Hospital, Kottayam. The police said the girl was declared brought dead at the hospital. Of the injured persons, the condition of a couple of persons remained critical. Preliminary investigations suggested that the driver had dozed off behind the wheel. “He appears to have completely missed the sharp curve on the road here,” said N.Babukuttan, Deputy Superintendent of Police.
Frequent accidents
According to him, the area used to witness accidents regularly in the past and the authorities had installed a few boards to caution the drivers .
Meanwhile, official sources said several vehicles arriving from the neighbouring States during the ongoing Sabarimala season were found violating basic safety norms, making them unsafe on roads with steep declines and sharp turns.
