Murugan (58) of Manjinaickenpatti was killed and 12 others, including eight students, were injured when a private bus collided with a corporation bus at Meena Vilakku on Bodi-Theni Highway near here on Friday.
Local people and the police personnel rescued the injured from the mangled remains of the buses.
Eight students, including Kanmani, Sharmila and Vasanth, who travelled in TNSTC bus, were admitted to the Bodi Government Hospital. Two grievously injured persons were referred to Theni Government Medical College Hospital at Gandamanur pass.
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Others were treated as outpatients. The condition of another person was critical.
In the impact of collision, the rear portion of the corporation bus was ripped off, rear steps completely collapsed and windowpanes smashed and injured students standing at the rear end of the bus.
The police said that speeding was the prime reason for this accident. Eyewitness told the police that the private bus was going at a hair-raising speed on the highway to reach Madurai at the earliest even during school hours on this road.
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While the corporation bus was coming to Bodi from Theni, the private bus was proceeding to Madurai from Bodi.