CUDDALORE: In a tragic road accident, three pilgrims were killed and four others seriously injured after a speeding car hit them while they were walking along the road near Virudhachalam in the early hours of Wednesday.
The victims were on a foot pilgrimage to attend the annual festival at Saint Antony’s Church in Melnariyappanur, Kallakurichi district. The deceased have been identified as D Irudaiyaraj (40), his daughter I Stefi Sagaya Mary (18), and I Stella Mary (35). The injured include Irudaiyaraj’s wife I Sherin Roslin Mary (35), I Amudhan (21), P Ananthi (20), and her brother P Charles (21), all residents of Varadharajanpet village near Andimadam in Ariyalur district.
According to police, the group had set out on foot from Varadharajanpet to Melnariyappanur and was walking via Virudhachalam. At around 2 a.m., near the railway overbridge on the Virudhachalam-Salem bypass road, a speeding car travelling towards Veppur struck them from behind.
“Three persons died on the spot due to the impact. The four others, who sustained serious injuries, were taken to the Government Hospital in Virudhachalam by a 108 ambulance,” said a police source.
The bodies were also sent to the hospital for post-mortem. Police added that the driver of the car fled the scene, and a manhunt is underway to trace him.
The incident has plunged Varadharajanpet village into mourning, as the victims belonged to the same close-knit community.