Thrissur (Keralam): Eight engineering students from Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul district were killed when their vehicle ploughed into a lorry parked “illegally” on NH-66 in Thrissur district of central Keralam, police said on Saturday, PTI reported.
The accident took place at about 11.40 pm on Friday at Panambikkunnu in Kaipamangalam, when the vehicle, moving from Guruvayur towards Kodungallur, struck the rear of a Maharashtra-registered lorry, police said.
According to the FIR, the lorry had been parked on the right side of the highway close to a barricaded stretch where traffic was being diverted because of ongoing construction work.
Police said the car was speeding and its driver seemingly missed the diversion barricade before crashing into the back of the stationary lorry.
Six of the students died on the spot, while two others were declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital, police said.
The deceased were students of an engineering college in Dindigul and were travelling towards Kodungallur along NH-66.
Police have confirmed the identities of six victims. Four — Surya, Yuvasanjith, Vishva and Johua — were from Dindigul, and two others — Santhosh and Prasanna — were from Madurai. The names of the remaining two are still being verified, officers said.
Bodies Shifted To Mortuary
Residents, fire-and-rescue crews and police jointly extricated the youths from the crushed car. Their bodies were subsequently moved to the mortuary attached to Thrissur Medical College, police said.
Kaipamangalam police have lodged a case against the lorry driver under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for culpable homicide. The driver absconded immediately after the crash and is yet to be traced, police said.
Investigators used student ID cards found on the bodies to reach the victims’ families. Some relatives told police they had no knowledge that their children had made the trip to Keralam, officers said.
Postmortems will be carried out after the families arrive at Thrissur Medical College, police said.