TIRUPATTUR: At least seven women died and 10 others were injured in Tirupattur district on Monday when a minibus halted on the Bangalore-Chennai National Highway for repair fell on them after being hit by a lorry from behind, police said. The victims, all passengers of the minibus, were sitting on the road median when the accident happened, sources said.
According to police, around 40 people from Pernampet in Vellore district went on a tour to Dharmasthala in Karnataka on September 8. The accident took place early on Monday when they were returning to their hometown in two minibuses. A tyre of one of the minibuses with around 13 passengers went flat stranding the passengers at Natrampalli on the national highway.
‘They had been saving up for years for the trip’
The driver had asked the passengers to disembark to change the tyre. The passengers were sitting on the road median when the lorry hit the van from behind. The van overturned in the impact of the collision and crushed the seven women dead,” police said.
The deceased were identified as Selvi (55), Meera (51), Devaki (50), Kalavathy (50), Savithri (42), Geethanjali (35), and Deivanai (32). The bodies of three of the victims were sent to Vaniyambadi GH, four bodies were sent to Tirupattur GH.
While nine of the injured were admitted to Krishnagiri Government Medical College Hospital for treatment, one child was discharged after outpatient care, police said. Chief Minister MK Stalin announced a solatium of Rs 1 lakh each to the kin of the dead and Rs 50,000 each for the injured. Prime Minister Modi has announced Rs 2 lakh ex gratia for the kin of the dead and Rs 50,000 each for the injured.
All the victims are MGNREGA workers. Gunasekar, the brother of Meera who died in the accident, said,” They have been saving small amounts for the past two to three years for the trip.” Inspector Malar of Natrampalli police station said, “Usually, vehicles undergoing repair would be parked on the left side of the road. However, this bus was parked on the right side, near the median.
The lorry driver too failed to notice the bus. If road rules were followed, the accident would not have happened.” A case has been registered against lorry driver P Arunachalam (34) under IPC Sections 279, 337 and 338A. A probe is on, police said.
Tirupattur Collector D Bhaskara Pandian, Vellore Collector P Kumaravel Pandian, and Krishnagiri Collector K M Sarayu visited the injured at hospitals and met the relatives of the dead.