CUDDALORE: Five people, including two women and a child, were killed in a head-on collision between a car and a lorry near Chidambaram in the early hours of Thursday.
The victims were travelling from Chennai to Mayiladuthurai district after visiting a relative who had been hospitalised.
The victims have been identified as A Muhammad Anwar (56) of Nakkampadi, near Kuthalam in Mayiladuthurai district, along with his relatives B Shahida Begum (60) of the same village, M Arafat Nisha (27), her son M Adnan (4) of Thirumangalam, and S Yasar Arafat (38) of Karuppur, near Kumbakonam in Tanjore district.
They started their return journey late Wednesday, with Yasar Arafat driving the car.
The accident occurred in the early hours of Thursday, at around 2 am, on the Villupuram-Nagapattinam highway, which is still under construction.
While crossing the flyover at Anaiyankuppam, near Chidambaram in Cuddalore district, the car collided with a lorry that was carrying soap from Chidambaram to Cuddalore. All five occupants of the car were found dead at the scene.
"The car was severely damaged, and all five were trapped inside. They were already dead when we arrived," said a police official. The bodies were taken to the Government Hospital in Chidambaram for post-mortem.
Parangipettai police have registered a case and are searching for the lorry driver and cleaner, who fled the scene after the accident.
"The accident likely occurred because both vehicles were travelling at high speed on the single-lane, as the road was under construction," a police source alleged. The damaged vehicles were cleared from the highway.