SIVAGANGA: Even as TNSTC officials are trying to ascertain what exactly caused the horrific bus accident at Nachiyarpuram on Sunday, the survivors and kin of the dead 11 are yet to recover from the shock and the loss it has wrought on their lives.
The world has come crashing for Bhuvaneshwari (35) who lost her mother K Vetriselvi (60) from YMR Patti in Dindigul. Vetriselvi was the only support for Bhuvaneshwari who married out of her caste against the wishes of all. “Amma held my family together and supported us by doing odd jobs. She was my pillar of strength. I cannot see her face-less body”, Bhuvaneshwari told TNIE.
R Diana (17) had firmly believed education would lift her family out of hardship. The youngest of four siblings from a poor household in Tiruchy, she chose engineering with a dream to support her parents. Diana’s dream has gone unfulfilled after she lost her life in the split-second accident on Sunday.
M Selvaraj (38) of Dindigul, who used to drive heavy vehicles, switched seats minutes before the crash, giving his place to a woman. His instincts told him something was wrong. “Our bus was going at a normal speed. The other one came very fast,” he recalled.
Despite his injuries, he pulled out as many passengers as he could before collapsing. “I drank dirty water from a canal just to stay alive. Now, my vision is slowly fading. I have children and I don’t know how I will work if this continues,” he said in a trembling voice.
Another survivor, S P Vairamani (62) of Kundrakudi in Sivaganga district, refused help and instead wanted rescuers to lift a 12-year-old girl (one of the youngest surviving victims) from the mangled mess. Sources said she is in a coma at a private hospital in Madurai and her legs would have to be amputated.
Health department officials said that except for four passengers, most of the injured are out of danger. Police have filed a case against the driver of the Karaikudi-Dindigul bus, S Sudhagar.
A senior TNSTC official said the initial impression suggested Sudhagar may have erred. However, Sudhagar’s mother, S Rasathi (49), insists her son indicated otherwise with gestures.