Malappuram, Sept 6(IANS)
Two youths were killed and three others injured when a car collided with a lorry on National Highway 66 at Idimuzhikkal near Chelambra in Malappuram district, adding to a grim series of fatal crashes on Kerala’s main coastal highway.
The deceased were identified as Jamsheer and Haris, both residents of Koomanna in Malappuram. Police said the collision occurred near Idimuzhikkal, leaving the car badly damaged. Three other occupants sustained injuries and were taken to hospital. The condition of two of them was reported to be critical.
Police and local residents reached the scene soon after the accident and assisted in shifting the victims to hospital. Further details about the circumstances of the collision were not immediately available. Police are examining whether speeding, poor visibility or other factors contributed to the crash.
The Malappuram accident came a day after eight engineering students from Tamil Nadu lost their lives in a devastating collision on NH-66 at Panambikkunnu in Kaipamangalam, Thrissur district.
The students were travelling from Guruvayur towards Kodungallur when their car rammed into the rear of a lorry parked near a diversion on an under-construction stretch of the highway at around 11.40 pm on Friday. The impact crushed the vehicle, forcing rescue workers to cut open the wreckage to retrieve the occupants.
Police said the car appeared to have been travelling at high speed. A case was registered against the lorry driver, while investigators began examining the vehicle’s parking, warning signs and safety arrangements at the construction zone.
The two accidents, occurring within a short span on the same national highway, have renewed concern over road safety, illegal parking and inadequate precautions along construction stretches. Authorities are expected to intensify inspections and traffic enforcement as residents demand urgent measures to prevent further loss of life on the busy interdistrict highway corridor.
