Five killed as bus collides with truck in Tamil Nadu

TRICHY: Five people, including a boy, died and 18 others suffered injuries when a government bus collided with a truck at Mochakottanpalayam in Karur district of Tamil Nadu on Sunday.
The deceased have been identified as truck driver Appachi, 45, of Kangeyam in Tirupur district and bus passengers Dhanalakshmi, 24, of Thavalaiveeranpattin in Trichy district, Rasathi, 60, of Lakshmi Nagar in Tirupur, Pazhaniammal, 60, of Thennilai in Karur and Jayagash, 8, of Tirupur.
The bus was going to Trichy from Tirupur. Karur town police inspector in-charge Senthil Kumaran said the accident happened when the bus driver, Yuvaraj, tried to overtake a vehicle on the two lane stretch at Mochakottanpalayam around 11am. The bus collided head-on with the sand-laden truck that was going to Coimbatore from Karur.
The Karur town police and passersby rescued the people who were trapped in the badly damaged vehicles.
The injured, including the bus driver, were rushed to Government Hospital in Karur and other hospitals in the area.
The accident affected traffic on the busy road for over two hours.
State transport minister M R Vijaya Baskar and deputy speaker of Lok Sabha M Thambidurai visited the accident spot.