Four of family die as car rams govt bus in Tiruchy

Ramesh Rathinapandian (45), a farmer from Thoothukudi, along with his wife Magdaline Shobana (40), his sons – Sam (12) and Shirine (10) – and his mother Santhi (67) were proceeding towards Chennai to attend a family event. Police said that Ramesh was driving the car.

When they reached Manikandam in Tiruchy on Monday around 7.45 am, one of the tyres of the car burst and the vehicle lost control. The vehicle jumped the median and hit the TNSTC bus that was coming from the opposite direction. The bus was proceeding towards Ponnamaravathi when the accident took place.

In the impact, the car was severely damaged and Santhi and Shobana died on the spot. While the other three were grievously injured, the onlookers rushed them to the Tiruchy Government Hospital. However, Ramesh and his younger son Shirine died on the way to the hospital. Sam, who suffered severe injuries, is now undergoing treatment at the Tiruchy GH. The Manikandam police have registered a case and areinvestigating.