CHENNAI: Two women died and seven others were injured on Tuesday in a road accident after a share auto allegedly driving on the wrong side of the road rammed a car at Kalavakkam on OMR.
According to police, the deceased were identified as Vijaya (44) of Sembakkam and Amsavalli (53) of Siruthavoor, both daily wage labourers. The share auto driver was identified as Dasarathan (50).
The incident occurred at around 6 pm. The share auto, with nine passengers, had been heading from Kelambakkam to Thiruporur. In an attempt to bypass the traffic jam near Kalavakkam, Dasarathan took a U-turn onto the wrong side of a two-way road.
The vehicle collided head-on with a car plying towards Kelambakkam from Alandur. In the impact, all the auto passengers, including the driver, were severely injured. The car driver, Thomas Matthew, escaped with minor injuries.
The nine injured persons were rushed to Chengalpattu Government Hospital. However, on Wednesday morning, Vijaya and Amsavalli succumbed to injuries. The bodies were sent for postmortem. The other seven are currently under treatment. A case was filed and the probe is on.
Fire at furniture godown near Madhavaram
Chennai: A fire broke out at a furniture godown near Madhavaram on Tuesday. No casualties were reported but furniture worth `20 lakh was damaged. Police said the godown belonged to Nirupan of Kodungaiyur. On Tuesday at around 10 pm, after employees shut shop for the day, a security guard noticed black smoke emanating from the building. Based on the information, 50 fire and rescue personnel rushed to the spot and put out the flames. A case was registered. The probe is on.