MADURAI: Six people, including a woman, died and 41 others were injured in a head-on collision between a government bus and a private omni bus on Monday morning near Madurai. The accident occurred on the Tiruchy-Madurai National Highway near the Vanchinagaram bus stop around 3.30 am when the passengers were fast asleep.
According to sources, the driver of the Chennai-to-Marthandam private bus, which had 43 passengers on board, lost control of the vehicle, causing it to crash through the highway median.
The bus entered the opposite lane and hit the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) bus travelling with 54 passengers from Madurai to Kumbakonam.
From the sheer force of the collision, the private bus was pushed back into its original carriageway and crashed into a concrete bus shelter.
The deceased were identified as P Anandharaj (46) and G Surya (29) of Tiruchy and K Mohammed Yasin (60) of Tiruvarur, who were travelling in the TNSTC bus, and omni bus passengers J Siriyapushpam (56) and J Abhraham (40) of Tirunelveli.
Five killed on spot, another victim later died at Madurai GRH
All the five died on the spot. Another victim, C Perumal (70) of Kottampatti, who was sleeping at the Vanchinagaram bus stop, sustained injuries after the bus rammed into the shelter. He later succumbed to his injuries at the Madurai Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH).
The impact caused the government bus to overturn, while the front portion of the omni bus was extensively damaged. Police, Fire and Rescue Services personnel, and ambulance teams rushed to the spot and shifted the injured to nearby hospitals.
Of the injured, 22 are undergoing treatment at the Melur Government Hospital, GRH, and a private hospital in Madurai. The bodies were taken to the Melur GH for postmortem. Madurai Range Deputy Inspector General of Police Abhinav Kumar, Madurai Superintendent of Police N Devanathan and other officials supervised the rescue operations. District collector M S Nishanth Krishna visited the injured at the government hospitals.
Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay extended his condolences to the bereaved families and directed officials to ensure special treatment for the injured. He announced a solatium of Rs 3 lakh each to the families of the deceased, Rs 1 lakh to those who sustained grievous injuries, and Rs 50,000 to those with minor injuries.
Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar also expressed his condolences over the tragedy.
