Two separate bus accidents in Tiruchy and Ariyalur districts of Tamil Nadu killed one person and injured 58 passengers in the early hours of Monday, with police investigating both rear-end collisions involving lorries.
The first accident occurred at about 1.40 am near the Valasupatti section road, close to Manapparai in Tiruchy district. A private omnibus carrying 46 passengers from Marthandam in Kanyakumari district to Chennai rammed into the rear of a mini lorry travelling ahead of it, police said.
Several passengers were trapped inside the damaged bus after the collision. Local residents broke the windows and helped rescue people through the emergency exit before ambulances took them to the government hospital in Manapparai and nearby private hospitals.
Sirajudeen, 36, a bus cleaner from Melapalayam in Tirunelveli district, died while being taken to hospital. More than 40 injured passengers were undergoing treatment at the Manapparai government hospital and local private hospitals, according to the report.
The mini lorry was carrying rice sacks intended for ration shops. Its crew fled the scene after the crash, and Valanadu police are investigating whether the consignment was being illegally transported. The police inquiry is also examining the circumstances of the collision.
Manapparai MLA Kathiravan visited the government hospital and met the injured passengers. The report did not provide details of the severity of individual injuries or announce any official compensation or traffic restrictions following the crash.
The second accident took place near Varanavasi Samathuvapuram, close to Ariyalur, when a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation bus travelling from Pattukkottai to Ariyalur rammed into the rear of a lorry. Eighteen passengers were injured and admitted to the government medical college hospital in Ariyalur.
Keelapalur police registered a case and began an investigation into the Ariyalur collision. Both cases remain under police inquiry, with the immediate focus on the sequence of events and the actions of the vehicles involved.
