KOTTAYAM: Two persons, including a differently-abled man, were killed and nine others were injured when a vehicle carrying Sabarimala pilgrims from Andhra Pradesh collided with a lorry and a scooter near Allappara on the Pala-Thodupuzha state highway. The deceased have been identified as Chandran, alias Jose - 50 of Kallarakkalthazhe house, Kadanad near Pala, who was a differently-abled lottery ticket vendor and Jinde Raju, 40, a pilgrim from Anantpur district in Andhra Pradesh.
The accident occurred around 12.30pm near Allappa church near Pravithanam. The pilgrims were returning from Sabarimala. According to eyewitnesses, the speeding jeep of the pilgrims first hit the lorry, which was parked on the wayside and then rammed the specially designed four-wheeled scooter, driven by Chandran, who was selling lottery tickets when the accident occurred.
All the injured were pilgrims and were given primary medical care at the Government General hospital, Pala. Police suspect the driver of the jeep, Arun, hailing from Chitradurga in Andhra Pradesh, might have dozed off. The police hasn’t been able to trace him after the accident.Both the scooter and the jeep were completely damaged in the accident. Chandran and Raju died on the spot. Police and rescue persons had to cut the jeep open to take out the injured.
3 of a family die as car, lorry collide near Mahe
Kozhikode: Three members of a family were killed in a road accident at Kannookkara near Mahe in the wee hours of Monday. Amballur natives Padmanabhan Namboodhiri, 55, wife Anitha, 45, their son, Shravan, 23, are the deceased. The incident took place around 3am. According to Chombala police, the car in which the family was travelling in collided with a lorry coming from the opposite direction. The family was on their way to Thrissur. The Chombala police have taken the lorry driver into custody. The couple’s younger son, Shreyas, who was injured in the incident, has been admitted to Kozhikode MCH.
Couple dies in motorbike-car smash
Kasaragod: A couple was killed when their motorcycle collided with a car at Kadakam in Karaduka grama panchayat on Monday. They died on the spot. The deceased are Govinda Raj, 52, who runs a salon in Mulleria, and wife Uma, 43. Police suspect that the driver of the car might have dozed off behind the wheel. “The bodies were sent for postmortem at General Hospital in Kasaragod,” said assistant sub-inspector Mohanan. “Originally from Tamil Nadu, Govinda Raj and Uma had settled in Kadakam several years ago,” said police. They are survived by three children, Senthil Kumar, Sharmila and Sarath Kumar..
Three pilgrims injured as minibus overturns
Idukki: Three pilgrims were injured after the minibus in which they were travelling went out of control and overturned on the highway at Thekkinkanam in Idukki. The bus was heading towards Palani with the pilgrims from Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. The injured are Murukeshan, 21, Kumar, 21 and Prakash, 20. Police said the driver lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a steep curve at Thekkinkanam, following which the bus hit a mud ridge on the side of road and overturned. More than a week ago, five pilgrims from TN were injured after the bus in which they were travelling in met with an accident near the location.
