Six killed as car and SUV collides head on near Ramnad

Ramanathapuram: Six people, including a group of youngsters from Karaikudi, were killed after a car and a sports utility vehicle collided head on at Thirupalaikudi here on Tuesday. While three people died on the spot, the rest were taken to a government hospital in the city, where three more of them were pronounced dead.
According to police, the speeding Maruti Swift car had hit a Bolero sports utility vehicle (SUV) on the Ramanathapuram-Tiruvadanai road in the evening.
The victims have been identified Subramani, 28, Vignesh, 18, son of Murugan , Praveenkumar, 18, son of Gunasekaran , Sabari, Gautam, 18, son of Rajasekaran and Manimuthu, 38, son of Annadurai.
The five youngsters were heading back to their homes in Karaikudi while Manimuthu, who was an AIADMK functionary from Manakudi, was travelling towards Rameshwaram from Manakudi with another person. The accident took place around 25km away from Ramanathapuram city.
Police were alerted immediately after the incident. A large number of police personnel, including deputy superintendent of police of Ramanathapuram and Thondi inspector of police, arrived at the spot. Two 108 ambulances were called to shift the injured people to hospital.
"All the five people in the car were killed and one of the travellers in the SUV was also killed. The passengers in the car were found to be under the influence of alcohol. The car was travelling at very high speed. The driver of the vehicle lost control of the wheel and hit the jeep coming from the opposite direction. A case has been registered and investigations are on," a police officer said.
Police sources said the youngsters had gone to Rameswaram to enjoy the holiday on Tamil New Year and were returning home when they lost their lives. Police had to struggle to recover the bodies from the mangled remains of the car.
Parents and relatives of the victims thronged the Ramanathapuram government hospital on hearing the news. This is the first time that a major accident killing more than five people has taken place in that particular area, police said.