Bus rams into group of Velankanni devotees, 3 dead

A 35-member group of devotees from E-Pudhur began their padayatra to Velankanni on Thursday night with a decorated idol of Mother Mary in a fish cart. When they reached Senthaneerpuram bridge on Tiruchy-Chennai bypass at 11.30 pm on Thursday, there was heavy rain. The devotees halted and covered their belongings with a tarpaulin sheet.

Suddenly, a private bus bound for Pattukottai from Tiruchy rammed into the group, killing John (58) of Coonoor and Selvaraj (65) of E-Pudhur, Tiruchy, on the spot. In the incident, 15 others suffered severe injuries.

On information, the North City Traffic police made arrangements to treat the injured at the Tiruchy GH where a few among them were kept in critical care unit.

Meanwhile, on Friday, one of the injured identified as Babu (65) of Coonoor died despite treatment. Further investigation is on.