CHENNAI: Twelve Malaysian tourists sustained injuries on Sunday when their van plunged into a gorge near Vellaiparai in Kodaikanal after the driver lost control on a hilly stretch. The vehicle, carrying the group returning from Palani temple, crashed nearly 100 feet down before being halted by a tree.

According to a Daily Thanthi report, a group of 12 tourists from Malaysia, led by a man named Bhaskaran, had arrived in Tamil Nadu a few days ago to visit various tourist and spiritual destinations. On Sunday morning, they had darshan at the Palani Murugan temple and later decided to travel to Kodaikanal.

The group set off in a tourist van from Palani towards Kodaikanal, driven by Vigneshwaran from Chennai. Around 4 pm, while the vehicle was passing through the hilly stretch near Vellaiparai at the Peruthupparai section in Kodaikanal, the driver reportedly lost control. The van veered off the road, broke through the iron barricades, and plunged nearly 100 feet into a gorge.

Eyewitnesses said the passengers cried out for help as the van tumbled down before crashing into a tree, which stopped it from falling further. Locals rushed to the spot, climbed into the gorge, and rescued those trapped inside the mangled vehicle.

All 12 Malaysian tourists sustained serious injuries in the accident. They were immediately shifted to the Government Hospital in Kodaikanal for treatment.