CUDDALORE: Three out of the four persons injured in the SETC bus accident at Ezhuthur near Thittakudi on Wednesday night were shifted to the Government Headquarters Hospital in Tiruchy on Thursday. The police arrested SETC bus driver, S Taha Ali (45) of Ayyappan Nagar at Othakadai in Madurai, on Thursday evening and further inquiry is underway.
Meanwhile, the family members of the nine deceased persons raised concerns about the condition and maintenance of SETC buses when Transport Minister S S Sivasankar and Labour Welfare Minister C V Ganesan visited them at the Perambalur Government Hospital on Thursday. One of the relatives asked, “Can they be brought back alive if we give Rs 1 crore? What will we do with the solatium?” Later, the ministers met those injured in the accident and their families.
At least nine persons — four men, three women and two children — were killed when a State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) bus collided with two cars on the Tiruchy-Chennai NH in Cuddalore district around 8 pm on Wednesday. According to police and local sources, the front tyre of the Chennai-bound SETC bus burst on the highway at Ezhuthur. The driver lost control, and the vehicle crossed over the median and hit two oncoming cars. Nine passengers of the cars died on the spot, while four others sustained injuries.
The victims were identified as car drivers Jeyakumar (65) of Tiruchy (currently staying in Karur) and M Durairaj (40) of Lalgudi, and passengers P Rajeshwari (55) and P Rajarathinam (65) of Karur, A Mohammed Farooq (38) of Kattur in Tiruchi, his children M Taj Birga (10) and M Abdul Basha (7), M Ribana (33), and S Gurjees Fathima (32) of Kaleef Nagar in Pillai Thanneer Panthal, Pudukkottai.
The injured have been identified as S Abdul Aziz (8), S Abdul Ahar (6), A Mohammed Kasim (55) of Pillai Thanneer Panthal in Pudukkottai, and his wife M Amisha (52). Mohammed Kasim is undergoing treatment at the Perambalur GH, while the three others have been transferred to the Tiruchy hospital. The police said the members of a Muslim family were travelling in one of the cars after dropping off Mohammed Kasim’s son Sirajudeen at the Chennai airport for his journey to Canada. “Of the 10 people travelling in their car, six died in the accident,” a police officer said.
Collector Sibi Adithya Senthil Kumar and Superintendent of Police S Jeyakumar, who inspected the accident spot, said the officials of the transport department are inquiring into the accident.
Chief Minister M K Stalin expressed condolences to the bereaved families. In a statement, he said he had ordered high-class treatment for the four injured persons, including two children. He also announced a solatium of Rs 3 lakh to the family of each deceased and Rs 1 lakh to each of the injured.
Bodies of victims sent to native towns after autopsy
Perambalur: The bodies of the nine deceased were transported to their respective native places in Tiruchy, Pudukkottai, and Karur districts by ambulance, after post-mortem at the Perambalur Government District Headquarters Hospital on Thursday.