MADURAI: Six people were killed in an accident when the car they were travelling on collided head-on with a truck, near Puliyangudi in Tenkasi district in the early hours of Sunday. Officials said the victims were returning home after a visit to Courtallam waterfalls.
The deceased were identified as Karthik (24), Vel Manoj (30), Pothiraj (32), Subramanian (29), Mano (19) and Muthamil Selvan (23) of Puliyangudi.
According to the police, the vehicle that the victims were travelling on collided with a cement-laden truck between Singilipatti and Punnaiyapuram on Tirumangalam-Kollam highway. The impact of the collision left the car crushed, officials said.
After receiving the alert, police and Fire and Rescue Services personnel rushed to the spot and took out the victims from the mangled car. However, Tenkasi Superintendent of Police TP Suresh Kumar who visited the accident spot said five of them succumbed to their injuries on the spot itself, while the other victim died on the way to hospital.
The bodies recovered from the accident scene were taken to Tirunelveli Government Medical College Hospital for postmortem examination.
The SP said the accident occurred at around 4 am. Preliminary investigation suggested that the truck involved in the collision was on the right track. The Chockampatti police have filed a case and picked up the truck driver, Prakash, who is being questioned, sources said.
Expressing grief at the accident, Chief Minister MK Stalin announced Rs 2 lakh each to the family of the victims from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund, said a statement from the State government.