COIMBATORE: As many as 15 passengers were injured after a TNSTC bus overturned near Perundurai in Erode on the Salem-Coimbatore National Highway.

The bus bound to Coimbatore from Salem with 48 passengers was driven by Rahman, 29, from Mettupalayam in Coimbatore. When the bus reached Olapalayam junction, the driver lost control, and the bus overturned past midnight. Fifteen passengers who were trapped inside the bus sustained severe injuries.

On receiving information, the police from Perundurai rushed to the spot and rescued the injured passengers. They were then admitted to the Perundurai Government Medical College Hospital for treatment, while the remaining passengers were sent to Coimbatore by another bus.

A case has been registered, and further inquiries are under way to determine the cause of the accident.