Thrissur, Sept 5: Eight engineering students from Tamil Nadu were killed in a devastating road accident after their car crashed into a stationary goods lorry on National Highway 66 at Kaipamangalam in Kerala’s Thrissur district around midnight on Friday.
The accident occurred at Panambikkunnu Centre, along a section of NH-66 where highway widening and construction work is currently under way. The lorry had reportedly been parked near a temporary diversion created as part of the ongoing work.
The Tamil Nadu-registered car, bearing registration number TN 59 DW 8299, was carrying eight students when it rammed into the rear of the stationary lorry. The force of the collision left the car badly mangled, trapping the occupants inside.
Local residents rushed to the scene after hearing the crash and alerted police and emergency services. Rescue personnel had to cut open parts of the wrecked vehicle to extricate the victims.
Seven students are believed to have died at the accident site. Another was rushed to hospital in a critical condition but could not be saved.
The victims were students of P S M Engineering College in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu. Five of them have been identified as Vishwa, 20, from Salem; Surya, 20, and Yuvasanjith, 20, from Dindigul; and Santhosh, 20, and Prasanna from Madurai. Authorities were working to establish the identities of the other three victims and contact their families.
Kaipamangalam police have launched an investigation into the accident and are examining the circumstances that led to the car hitting the parked lorry.
Investigators are also expected to examine whether the location of the stationary vehicle near the temporary highway diversion contributed to the collision. The vehicles involved and evidence collected from the accident site will be examined to establish the precise sequence of events.
The tragedy has once again drawn attention to road safety along stretches of NH-66 undergoing widening and construction in Kerala. Several sections of the highway currently have temporary diversions, altered traffic patterns and restrictions because of the ongoing work.
Police said further details would emerge as the investigation progresses.
