NAGAPATTINAM: A seven-year-old girl died and over 20 persons sustained injuries on Sunday after the tourist bus they had taken from Andhra Pradesh met with an accident near Velankanni in the district.
According to sources, a group of 44 tourists from Kadappa district in Andhra Pradesh arrived in Tamil Nadu in a private bus for pilgrimage. They visited Nagore on Saturday and participated in the Palm Sunday prayers at Velankanni on Sunday morning. They left Velankanni around 11.30 am and headed to Rameswaram via East Coast Road. M Niranjan (37) was at the wheel.
Around noon, when the bus passed by Karainagar village, the driver lost control of the vehicle due to an alleged snag. The bus skidded, toppled over to the right and fell over a house.
Hearing the cries of the trapped passengers, locals rushed to the spot and began rescue attempts. Two fire and rescue services teams, including 14 personnel led by District Fire Officer S Vadivelu, from Velankanni and Nagapattinam soon joined them in the operation.
A total of 42 of the trapped passengers were pulled out from the vehicle and taken to the Nagapattinam government hospital. Meanwhile, efforts continued to rescue an elderly Rajammal and a seven-year-old Sathvika who were among the tourists.
A Ambigapathy, fire officer from Velankanni, said, "We managed to get Rajammal out and sent her to hospital. But Sathvika got stuck under the weight of the bus and could not be pulled out. Though we lifted the toppled bus using a crane, she had passed away by then."
Nagapattinam Collector A Arun Thamburaj met the injured tourists at the hospital and advised the doctors to provide suitable treatment. A case has been registered at Keezhaiyur police station. Further investigations are on.