CHENNAI: Five members of a family were killed when the car in which they were travelling collided head-on with a lorry near Chidambaram B Mutlur outer ring road on the Villupuram-Nagapattinam National Highway in Cuddalore district on Thursday. The deceased included a two-year-old child and two women,

according to a Daily Thanthi report.

Mohammad Anwar (56), who hails from Nakkambadi village near Kuthalam in Mayiladuthurai district, was travelling along with his relatives in a car when the mishap occurred. They were on their way back home after visiting a family member who was unwell. The relative from Dubai was admitted to a hospital in Chennai.

They were proceeding to Mayiladuthurai from Chennai when a lorry coming from the opposite direction hit the car near B Mutlur flyover in the early hours of Thursday

The impact of the collision left the car in a mangled heap with all five occupants being killed on the spot. They were identified as: Yassar Arafat (40) from Kumbakonam, who was driving the car, Mohammad Anwar (56), Hajira Begum (62), Arafat Nisha (30), and her child Afnan (3), all of whom are from Mayiladuthurai.

 Parangippet police rushed to the spot and retrieved the five bodies from the mangled car.

The bodies were sent to the Chidambaram Government Hospital for autopsy.

The lorry driver and cleaner fled the spot, police said.

 The driver could have dozed off momentarily while driving, thus losing control of the lorry, the cops suggested, as reported by IANS.

Locals have alleged that there are frequent accidents in the area due to a lack of safety barricades, especially since the Villupuram Nagapattinam National Highway construction work is underway, the IANS report added.

(With inputs from IANS & Bureau)