Thrissur: Eight engineering students from Tamil Nadu were killed after the car they were travelling in crashed into a parked lorry in Kerala’s Thrissur district late Friday night, police said.
The accident took place at around 11.40 pm at Panambikkunnu in Kaipamangalam along NH-66 while the group was travelling from Guruvayur towards Kodungallur.
According to police, all eight victims were students of an engineering college in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu.
Six Students Die On Spot, Two At Hospital
Police said six of the students died at the accident site, while two others were taken to a nearby hospital, where they were declared dead on arrival.
Six victims have so far been identified. Surya, Yuvasanjith, Vishva and Johua were residents of Dindigul, while Santhosh and Prasanna were from Madurai. The identities of the remaining two victims were yet to be formally confirmed.
Local residents, fire and rescue personnel and police carried out an operation to remove the victims from the badly damaged car.
Their bodies were later shifted to the mortuary at Thrissur Medical College.
Lorry Allegedly Parked Illegally On Highway
The Tamil Nadu-registered car reportedly hit the rear of a Maharashtra-registered lorry that had been parked on the highway.
According to the FIR, the lorry was allegedly parked illegally on the right side of the road near a barricaded stretch where traffic had been diverted because of ongoing construction work.
Police said the car was also travelling at high speed and the driver apparently failed to notice the diversion barricade before crashing into the lorry.
The exact sequence of events remains under investigation.
Case Registered Against Lorry Driver
Kaipamangalam police have registered a case against the lorry driver under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Police said the driver allegedly went into hiding after the accident.
Investigators are examining the circumstances surrounding the lorry’s parking as well as the condition of the construction and diversion zone at the time of the crash.
Families Contacted Through Student ID Cards
Police said they contacted the families of the victims using student identity cards recovered following the accident.
Some family members were reportedly unaware that the students had travelled to Kerala.
Postmortem examinations are expected to begin after the families reach Thrissur Medical College.
Further investigation into the accident is underway.
