Eighteen persons of a wedding group including fifteen women were killed in a road accident near Palacode in Dharmapuri district on Wednesday night. Thirty-eight persons including 24 women were injured. The injured were rushed to the Dharmapuri Medical College Hospital and Palacode taluk hospital.
Police sources said a lorry from the opposite direction hit the mini lorry in which the family members and relatives of the wedding group were travelling.
The bride and her parents sitting in the driver's cabin escaped with simple injuries.
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The accident occurred when the mini-lorry driver of the wedding group was about to overtake a tractor near a private school in Kartharapatti in Kovilooranpatti village 4 km from Palacode on the Dharmapuri main road. A lorry bound for Kerala to Bangalore from the opposite direction dashed against the right side of the vehicle just behind the driver’s cabin. Ten persons from the group were killed on the spot and eight succumbed to their injuries in the hospital.
The group left from Thirumalvadi village near Palacode to Bilparthi village near Bommidi on its way to solemnise the marriage on Thursday morning.
Those killed in the accident were:
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Thavamani 45, Belrampatti, M. Veeri 42, Padamadai, M. Devi 32, W/o Madhiyazhaan, Thirumalvadi, M. Maharani 42, W/o Mahendran, Narsipuram near Pennagaram, M. Shantana 27 W/o Munivel, Tirumalvadi, M. Suganya 16, D/o of Madhi, Thirumalvadi, G. Sri 13, S/o Govindaraj, Thirumalvadi, S. Nagendran 22, S/o Seenu, Thirumalvadi, M. Rupa 34, D/o Muniayappan, Thirumalvadi, D. Vairammal 60 W/o Duraisamy, Kalappambadi, R. Rama 32 W/o Ravi, Chinnampalli, M. Sridevi 19, D/o Muniraj, Thirumalvadi, S. Lavanya 15, D/o Sadasivam, Thirumalvadi, T. Priyanka 16, D/o Thangavel, Narsipuram, C. Rami 55, W/o Chinraj, Kalappambadi, P. Bakkiyam 40 w/o Palani, Thirumalvadi, T. Janaki 42, W/o Thangavel, Narsipuram, A. Malarkodi 42, Narrsipuram.
As many as 38 persons including 24 women were injured which includes the bride G. Nitya 21 and her parents. The injured driver, A. Ramachandran, of the Bangalore-bound lorry was also admitted in the Dharmapuri Medical College Hospital for treatment. Information about the ill-fated mini-lorry driver is yet to be ascertained.
Police and fire service personnel from Palacode rushed to the spot. The bodies were extricated and the injured sent to hospital.
Collector P. Amudha, Deputy Inspector General of Police G. Venkatraman, Salem Range, Superintendent of Police R. Sudhakar rushed to the spot and the Dharmapuri Medical College Hospital.
P. Sivanandi, Inspector General of Police, West Zone, visited the Thirumalvadi village and the place of the accident at Kartharpatti village on Thursday.