TIRUNELVELI: A 43-year-old woman passenger died after she fell off a moving Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) bus that lost control near Idaikal in Tirunelveli on Thursday.
Several other passengers were injured in the incident.
While officials said the driver had failed to close the bus door, causing the death, sources said the vehicle may have lost control due to the cracking of the steering rod.
Around 54 passengers were on the government bus at the time of the accident.
The deceased has been identified as M Jayalakshmi, a native of Anainthanadarpatti village.
“Jayalakshmi has been residing in Mumbai for the past few years. She and her family had come to her native village for her children’s school vacation. On Thursday, she decided to take bath in Thamirabarani river at Papanasam and boarded a TNSTC bus from Alangulam to Papanasam at Anainthanadarpatti. When the bus neared Idaikal, it lost control. It began shaking violently, throwing Jayalakshmi out through the front door. The vehicle then veered into a farmland abutting the Alangulam-Ambasamudram road,” sources said.
“Jayalakshmi’s relatives, who noticed blood oozing from the nose and her head injury, rushed her to the Ambasamudram Government Hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead.
A few other passengers who suffered minor injuries were treated as outpatients at a private hospital,” sources added.
Pappakudi police have registered a case and arrested bus driver S Murugesh for causing death due to negligence.
In a video, the driver claimed that the bus was not in good condition when he began the trip and that he had alerted his higher officials about the issue beforehand.
Krishnakumar, TNSTC branch manager of Papanasam, however, refuted the allegation of the driver and claimed that the driver’s negligence had caused the death. “Around 54 passengers were travelling in the bus. When it was descending the road after crossing a culvert, the bus lost control, and its leaf spring got damaged. (A leaf spring is a mechanical part commonly used for suspension in wheeled vehicles). The woman may have lost her footing, and since the driver failed to lock the doors of the bus, she would have fallen off the bus. The driver had also previously caused a fatal accident,” he added.