4 killed after private bus hits chemical tanker near Chennai

CHENNAI: Four people, including a MTC bus driver, were killed in an accident involving a private bus from Andhra Pradesh and a chemical tanker near Kavarapettai in Tiruvallur district in the early hours of Monday.

There were 30 passengers in the bus that was coming from Hyderabad to Chennai and traveling towards Koyambedu, when the accident happened.

The truck was ferrying chemicals to a company in Chennai.

Police said that the accident happened around 4 am. The truck was moving on a flyover when it came to a sudden halt after one of the back tyre got burst. The bus, which was trailing the truck, hit the truck's side leading to the accident.

Police said that the driver of the bus was taken by a surprise and he tried to swerve to avoid ramming onto the truck, but it still hit the truck's side. A portion of the bus got completely mangled in the accident, killing three persons on the spot - Satheesh Kumar (27), from Nellore, Rohith Prasad (24), from Bengaluru and Sridar (22), from Andhra Pradesh. A MTC bus driver, S Janakiraman (40), who had boarded the bus to report to duty was grievously injured and he succumbed to injuries at the Government Stanley Hospital.

Janakiraman was attached to the Padiyanallur MTC depot. He got on the bus at Puduvayal, two kilometres away from his house. He was seated next to the driver’s seat near the door, said a senior police officer.

Locals came to the rescue of the passengers in the bus. Soon, Thiruvallur district police and personnel from Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services (TNFRS) reached the scene and rescued the passengers struck in the bus and moved them to hospitals nearby.

Vehicle entry on the flyover was not allowed for three hours, police said. Three passengers from Chennai who were travelling in the bus are admitted in Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and are in a serious condition.