Chennai, March 6 (IANS)

Two children were killed when an Omni van in which they were traveling rammed into the rear of a truck at Palakkad-Coimbatore National High way near KG Chavadi in Coimbatore district during the early hours of Sunday. Eight people were injured in the accident.

The deceased are M. Sanju Sree (7) and her younger brother M. Mithran (5) of Erode.

The truck that was coming from Kozhikode to Coimbatore with casting powder bags was parked near a fuel pump in the Palakkad- Coimbatore highway as the fuel tank was empty. The Omni van which was also coming in the same direction lost control and rammed into the truck as it thought that the truck was moving but didn’t notice that it was parked. Police said that the truck driver had not put the parking light on and this led to the van ramming into the truck.

The deceased are the children of the Omni van driver Monish Kumar who is injured and admitted to hospital along with his wife Indumathi, V. Ramachandran, his wife Sarika, his daughters R. Ranjitha, and R. Akshaya, and their relative,R. Kanchanakumari is injured with fractures.

The owner of the Omni van Nazar Ali escaped without any injuries.