Thrissur, Sept 5:
Eight people, including seven engineering students from Tamil Nadu, were killed when their car crashed into a stationary goods lorry on National Highway 66 at Panambikkunnu in Kaipamangalam, Thrissur district, late Friday night.
The accident occurred around 11.40 pm when the Tamil Nadu-registered car was travelling from Guruvayur towards Kodungallur. The vehicle rammed into a lorry parked near a diversion on an under-construction stretch of the highway. The impact was so severe that the car was completely mangled.
Police and fire and rescue personnel rushed to the spot after receiving information about the crash. Local residents also joined the rescue operation. Several occupants were trapped inside the badly damaged vehicle, forcing rescuers to cut open the car to retrieve the victims.
Police said the deceased included students of an engineering college in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, while the eighth victim was the car driver. Initial reports have identified several of the victims as students from Tamil Nadu.
Among those identified are Surya and Yuvasanjith of Dindigul, Vishva of Salem, and Santhosh and Prasanna of Madurai. Other reports have identified Johua as another victim from Dindigul. Authorities are continuing the process of formally confirming the identities and informing the families.
The bodies were shifted to the Thrissur Medical College mortuary for post-mortem examination. Police have registered a case and launched an investigation into the circumstances leading to the collision.
Preliminary reports said CCTV footage captured the car travelling at high speed along the relatively empty highway shortly before the crash. The stationary lorry was positioned near a diversion on a section where highway construction work was under way. Investigators are examining the road conditions, traffic arrangements and visibility at the location as part of the probe.
The accident has raised fresh concerns over safety arrangements on highway stretches undergoing construction, particularly where vehicles are diverted and heavy vehicles are parked close to the carriageway.