KRISHNAGIRI: Around 47 people were injured after a private bus carrying devotees from Dharmapuri to Melmaruvathur fell into a roadside pit near Uthangarai in Krishnagiri on Friday. Six people were seriously injured and others suffered minor injuries.
Sources said that over 100 devotees from Ettiampatti village in Dharmapuri left for Melmaruvathur Adhiparasakthi temple in Chengalpattu district in three buses on Friday morning. B Kanagaraj (39), a resident of Ettiampatti, drove one of those buses in which around 54 devotees including 48 women travelled. Around 10 am, while nearing VHP Nagar near Uthangarai on the Krishnagiri-Puducherry National Highway, the driver allegedly lost control and the bus fell into a pit. In this 47 people including the driver were injured.
On information police and firefighters rushed to the spot and sent the injured to Uthangarai Government Hospital for treatment. More than 15 people were shifted to Dharmapuri Government Medical College Hospital for further treatment.
A police officer said, “The bus rolled into a 20-foot-deep roadside pit. Kanagaraj recently drove some devotees to Sabarimala and then took this trip to Melmaruvathur without rest. The incident may have taken place due to sleep disturbance. However, a case has been registered against Kanagaraj and the bus owner Venkatesan.”
The officer added, “Six people were seriously injured and others suffered minor injuries. However, everyone is stable.”
Collector K M Sarayu, district Superintendent of Police P Thangadurai, Uthangarai MLA TM Tamilselvam, and other officials inspected the spot and met the injured people at the hospital.
Officials from the district administration, said, “Sarayu inquired about the treatment provided to the injured at the hospital and she also instructed the hospital administration to provide advanced treatment.”