MALAPPURAM: Five persons, two of them children, died after the autorickshaw they were travelling in collided with a bus carrying Sabarimala pilgrims from Karnataka at Chettiyangadi near Manjeri in Malappuram around 6 pm on Friday. Four of the deceased were from the same family.
The deceased are Abdul Majeed, 50, the autorickshaw driver, Thasnima, 34, her sister Muhsina, 32, and Thasnima’s daughters Rinsha Fathima, 7, and Raiha Fathima, 4. Ten persons, including the driver, were in the autorickshaw at the time of the accident.
The injured, under treatment at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, are Sabira, 58, mother of Thasnima and Muhsina, Thasnima’s one-year-old child Rayan, and Muhsina’s children Muhammad Nishad, 11, Asa Fathima, 6, and Muhammad Ashan, 4. Majeed was to attend his daughter’s wedding on Saturday. Due to the impact, the autorickshaw was fully damaged, eyewitnesses said.
Residents and the police launched immediate rescue operations, but unfortunately, three persons died on the spot while two succumbed to injuries in the hospital. Manjeri resident Hussain Vallanchira, an eyewitness, said: “Those in the autorickshaw sustained severe injuries while some pilgrims on the bus suffered minor injuries. The injured were promptly shifted to nearby hospitals and the unhurt pilgrims were relocated to a nearby temple.”