KOCHI: 2023 began on a sour note for Kerala with nine people losing their lives in separate road accidents across the state on Sunday. While three persons died in Pathanamthitta, two each died in Alappuzha and Kozhikode. One death each was reported from Thiruvananthapuram and Idukki. Of the deceased, three died while returning after New Year celebrations.
A 20-year-old college student lost his life while 44 others suffered minor injuries when a tourist bus carrying them fell into a gorge near Adimali in Idukki around 1.15 am. Milhaj, a native of Tirur and a student of Regional Industrial Training Institute in Tirur, Malappuram, died.
The students were returning from their three-day excursion. The bus fell into a gorge while negotiating a hairpin curve at Muniyara near Thingalkad on the Kallarkutty-Mayiladumpara route. The injured persons, which included the crew of the bus, were admitted to Adimali taluk hospital and Kolenchery MCH, said officials. Three people died in Pathanamthitta in two separate accidents.
In the first incident, two youths Shyam, 28, of Chingavanam in Kottayam and Arun Kumar, 29, of Kunnamthanam in Tiruvalla died when their bike rammed a tanker truck in Tiruvalla in the early hours of Sunday. In the second incident, Enathu native Thulasidharan, 64, was killed when his two-wheeler hit an electricity pole near Adoor in the wee hours.
In Alappuzha, two persons were killed when a police jeep rammed their two-wheeler at South Aryad around 3:30 am. Justin Edward, 39, and his cousin Alex, 20, of Kottayam were returning after New Year celebrations at Alappuzha beach.
Army man on leave dies in accident
After hitting the vehicle, the jeep, which was the official vehicle of the DySP (District Crime Records Bureau), crashed into the wall of a nearby house. The police said its driver Vishnu was returning after dropping the DySP at his home in Kottayam and was alone in the vehicle at the time of the accident.
The police suspect he dozed off at the wheel. In Kozhikode, a 59-year-old woman waiting at the Koyilandy bus stand was run over by a private bus around 8am. In another incident, Bjiu, 42, died after his bike was hit by a car.
Though he was rushed to the Kozhikode MCH, Biju could not be saved. An army man was killed in a road accident near Kilimanoor in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday night after he lost control of his bike and hit a wall. Aromal, 24, of Pulimath, was part of the Army Aviation Corps in Nasik. He was here on leave after his father was injured in a road accident at the same spot last week.
200 at Fort Kochi seek medical help
In an incident that could have proved to be tragic, over 200 people who gathered at Fort Kochi to witness the burning of Pappanji on New Year’s Eve sought medical aid after they were almost crushed in the throng.
(With inputs from bureaus)