ALAPPUZHA: Five youths, four of them temporary employees at the ISRO canteen in Thiruvananthapuram, were killed when their car rammed a lorry near Kakkazham rail overbridge on NH-66 at Ambalappuzha in the early hours of Monday. The police suspect speeding led to the accident.
The deceased are Prasad, 25, Shijin Das, 24, Manu, 24, Sumod, 25, and Amal, 28. Amal belonged to Mandrothuruthu in Kollam, while the rest were from Alathoor in Perumkadavila, Thiruvananthapuram. Shijin worked in Kochi and the others were contractual staff at the ISRO canteen.
The incident happened when the youths were returning to Kochi in a rented car to drop off Shijin after attending a marriage in Kaliyikkavila near Kerala’s border in Thiruvananthapuram. Their car rammed a lorry that was heading to Kollam carrying rice from Andhra Pradesh.
CCTV visuals retrieved from local shops revealed that the car deviated from its lane and hit the lorry. While four persons died on the spot, one died in Alappuzha Medical College Hospital. Traffic on the NH was disrupted for an hour following the accident.
The bodies were handed over to relatives after postmortem examination. The police have taken the lorry driver and cleaner into custody. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has condoled the demise of the youths.