A pleasure trip by a group of students from Thiruvananthapuram turned tragic when their bus fell into a 50-foot gorge, 22 km from Munnar, killing seven of them and the bus cleaner on Monday noon. The accident occurred while the bus was negotiating a steep curve between Thekkinkanam and Mullakkanam near here. It turned turtle at least twice before coming to a halt.
The students doing their final-year electronics and instrumentation course at the Sarabhai Institute of Science and Technology, Thiruvanthapuram, were going to Munnar after visiting Kodaikanal. The college authorities said the trip was without their knowledge but had the clearance from their parents. The deceased students were identified as Sharat Chandran of Karuvelil House, Ambalamedu, Ernakulam, Sreejesh of Sree Bhavan, Trikkunnapuzha South, Kakkakunnu, Kollam, Shyju of Kuttalathu House, Thycattukara, Aluva, Vignesh of Bhagavathi Mandiram, Jawahar Nagar, Kowdiar Thiruvananthapuram, Jithin John of Mazhavillu, TBRA 38-B, Nanthencode, Thiruvananthapuram, Manju Balakrishnan of Thazhe Thundiyil House, Naduvil Thaliparamba, Kannur and Hemanth of Palode, Thiruvananthapuram. Bus cleaner Raj Kumar belongs to Kuttivilakathu House, Attinkuzhi, Kazhakuttom.
The group consisted of 43 persons, including 26 boys, 13 girls, two crewmen and two relatives of a student. Raj Kumar was among the 13 seriously injured who were taken to the Kolenchery Medical College Hospital. Those with minor injuries were being treated at the Adimali Taluk Hospital and Morning Star Hospital, police said. The bus had been diverted from Poopara through the PWD road as the NH 49 from Bodimetu-Poopara- Munnar was under maintenance, police said.