Lorry falls into 200-ft well in Coimbatore, two feared dead

According to police, three persons, Mani (20), Balamurugan (20) and Selvam (33), all hailing from Theni were in the lorry when it fell into the deep well. The trio had come down to Chinna Thadagam to load bricks from a brick kiln unit.

“Mani who was behind the wheels had lost control and the lorry plunged into the ground level unused well at 9 pm. On hearing their scream, workers employed in the brick making unit rushed to the spot and found the lorry inside the well,” police added.

On receiving information, the fire and rescue personnel rushed to the spot and got into the well by climbing down a rope. The firefighters found the lorry stuck in the middle of the well, which had only a little water.

After several hours of struggle, the rescue personnel managed to bring out Mani at 3 am on Tuesday. He was sent for treatment at a private hospital. Two others were suspected to have slipped out of the lorry and fallen into the well.

The duo could not be taken out of the well till Tuesday evening and cranes were engaged to pull out the lorry. Police suspect that the duo had died in the mishap.

In another mishap, two persons died and 11 others injured after a government bus from Salem to Chennai rammed into a stationed lorry near Vazhapadi in Salem district.

At 11.30 pm, the bus with around 25 passengers had rammed into a lorry, stationed due to some fault on a flyover, on the Salem-Chennai national highways at Puthiragaundampalayam.

The Yethapur police in Salem rushed to the spot and sent 13 persons, who suffered injuries to Salem Government Hospital. However, two persons identified as Manikandan (30) from Thiruvannamalai and Thangam (58) from Chennai died without responding to treatment. The Yethapur police have registered a case and further inquiries are on.