TIRUNELVELI: At least five tourists from Andhra Pradesh, including two women, were killed and seven others were injured when cement-laden lorry went out of control and ran over tourists by the roadside and crashed into a parked bus in which the victims were travelling.
The incident happened during the wee hours of Saturday near Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu.
According to police sources, the tourists were from Tenali in Guntur district. They were travelling in a tourist bus to Kanyakumari district. They stopped for a break at Kavusanalpuram on the Tirunelveli-Kanyakumari four-way road and walked over to the roadside to relieve themselves.
They were run over by a speeding cement-laden lorry that veered off the highway and crashed into the rear of the bus causing severe injuries to seven other tourists.
The deceased victims have been identified as Rathna Manikyam (56), Nagavardini (45), Venkat Ramarao (63) , Satyam (50) and Ram Mohan Rao (70). While the first four succumbed at the spot, Ram Mohan Rao has died on the way to the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital.
Those who sustained injuries have been identified as Anusha (22), Seethamma (64), Vijayakumar (50), Ramareddy Prasanna (24) Suryanarayana (62), Savitri (50) and Renuka Devi (48).
The Tirunelveli traffic intelligence wing has booked a case against the lorry driver, who is at large.