THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Two youths died after their motorcycles collided while they were performing a stunt on the NH-66 bypass section at Kalluvettankuzhi near Mukkola at Vizhinjam here on Sunday.
S Sarath, 20, of Chowara and H Mohammed Firoz, 22, of Nettayam near Vattiyoorkavu died in the accident that took place around 5.30pm. The Vizhinjam police, who registered a case, said the bikers had been approaching each other on their motorcycles at high speed when they lost balance and collided. They were rushed to a nearby hospital, but were declared dead on arrival. The police said bike racing happened on the stretch regularly and had become a public nuisance.
Prajeesh Sasi, inspector of police, Vizhinjam, said the youths had got acquainted through a WhatsApp group of bike racers. “We will monitor the group. We carry out patrolling on the stretch regularly, but could not prevent the accident. In any case, there will be round-the-clock patrolling,” he said. He said the police on Sunday morning took four motorcycles into custody after getting wind about racing. “We have recommended cancellation of the owners’ driving licence,” Prajeesh said.
The residents have blamed the authorities for not opening the road to normal traffic. “There is not much movement on this road. At present, it is used by a handful of people as the one from Kovalam has been closed for some time.
The vehicles enter this road by taking the service lane. Recently, racing enthusiasts chose this stretch as an ideal place for racing and bike stunts,” said Joyce P, a local resident. The bodies have been shifted to the medical college hospital morgue and will be handed over to relatives after postmortem examination on Monday.