8 Tamil Nadu engineering students killed in Kerala, their car rammed into parked lorry

At least eight engineering students from Tamil Nadu were killed in a road accident as a car rammed into a parked lorry in Keralam's Thrissur, police said today (5 September).

According to police, the deceased were students of an engineering college in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, and were travelling from Guruvayur towards Kodungallur along NH-66.

The accident occurred around 11.40 pm yesterday (4 September), according to the police.

Six students died on the spot, while two others were declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital, police said.

Four of them were indentified as-Surya, Yuvasanjith, Vishva and Johua from Dindigul, while Santhosh and Prasanna were from Madurai, news agency PTI reported. Police said the identities of two others are yet to be confirmed.

The car, carrying a Tamil Nadu registration, in which the youths were travelling collided with a Maharashtra-registered lorry parked on the highway at Panambikkunnu in Kaipamangalam and died on the spot, news agency PTI reported.

According to the FIR, the lorry was illegally parked on the right side of the highway near a barricaded section where traffic had been diverted as part of ongoing construction work. The car rammed into its rear.

The car was travelling at high speed and the driver apparently failed to notice the diversion barricade before hitting the rear of the lorry, police said.

Case registered against lorry driver

Kaipamangalam police have registered a case against the lorry driver, who fled from the spot, under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for culpable homicide.

Thrissur Rural District Police Chief Mohammad Nadeemuddin said a preliminary investigation indicated that the accident occurred due to the lorry driver's fault.

"It is definitely a mistake on the part of the lorry driver. An FIR has already been registered. Additionally, regarding the highway authorities and the contractor, we will inspect that as part of the investigation and take strict action," he told reporters.

Nadeemuddin said the lorry driver was absconding, but the vehicle owner had been identified, and the driver would be apprehended soon, according to PTI.

He said that although a Highway Police patrol unit had been deployed in the area, lorry drivers often parked their vehicles and left the spot.

"Definitely, parking should not be done here. We will check whether the highway authorities and contractors have installed proper signboards. But as per the preliminary assessment, this is a mistake on the part of the lorry driver," he said.

Nadeemuddin added the Kodungallur deputy superintendent of police had been assigned to investigate the case.

"Legal action has been initiated, and an FIR has already been registered. Given the gravity of the case, we have designated the deputy SP of Kodungallur as the investigating officer. There will be a thorough investigation, and immediate and strict action will be taken against whoever is at fault. Necessary preventive measures will be taken by the police," he said.

ID cards used to identify students

College identity cards were used to recovered from the bodies to contact the families of the deceased. Some of the families were unaware their children had travelled to Kerala, police said.

The victims were pulled from the car in a rescue operation involving locals, fire and rescue personnel, and police, before their bodies were taken to the mortuary of Thrissur Medical College.

Postmortem examinations were conducted at Thrissur Medical College, where relatives arrived to receive the bodies.

Relatives told police that Santhosh had recently purchased a car and that the group had planned a trip to Kochi. As the registration of the car had not been completed, they hired a rented vehicle for the trip, they said.