THOOTHUKUDI: Two young children among five persons -- all riding on the same two-wheeler -- were killed on the spot after a tourist van collided head-on with their vehicle near Vaippar in Thoothukudi district on Sunday evening.
The deceased were identified as Gurusamy (40), a Pallaakulam native who was residing in Kulathur, Murugammal (39) of Pandarampatti, Muthulakshmi (42) of Pallakulam, and Muthulakshmi's two children -- Sumithran (3) and Mugil (5). Sources said all five were relatives.
Sources said that the victims were travelling from Kulathur towards Pallaakulam village along the East Coast Road when the accident occurred. The tourist van, proceeding from Sayalkudi of Ramanathapuram district towards Thoothukudi, allegedly rammed into the vehicle head-on, throwing the victims off the motorbike. All five sustained severe injuries and died on the spot.
Upon receiving information, personnel from the Kulathur police station rushed to the accident spot, recovered the bodies, and sent them to the Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital for postmortem examination. Traffic in the area was briefly affected due to the accident.
The police have registered a case against the driver of the tourist van and arrested him late on Sunday. Further investigation is underway.