KOTTAYAM: In a tragic incident, five members of a family, including three women were killed when the car in which they were travelling rammed a wood-laden lorry at Kalikavu near Kuravilangad along M C Road in the early hours of Saturday.
The deceased were identified as Thampi-68 of Ullattilpadi house, wife Valsala – 65, their daughter-in-law Prabha-45, Prabha’s son Arjun alias Ambadi-19 and her mother Usha. According to police, accident occurred around 12.30 am. The family was returning from Chalakkudi after visiting a relative’s house there, police said. The car collided head-on with the lorry, which was heading to Perumbavoor from Pathanamthitta. Police suspect that Ambadi, who drove the car, might have dozed off.
The car was completely destroyed in the impact of the collision. The Fire and Rescue Force unit from Kaduthuruthi, with the help of police and local residents, cut apart the car to take out the passengers, who got trapped inside it.
All the five persons died on the spot and the bodies were shifted to the Government Medical College hospital, Kottayam.
Traffic disrupted for nearly 45 minutes along M C Road following the accident. Thampi was doing lottery business in Kottayam town. Prabha, who was working as a nurse in Kuwait, is the wife of Thampi’s son Praveen, who is also in Kuwait.