Chennai family heads to see son’s newborn in Thoothukudi; 5 killed in accident, one injured

MADURAI: Five members of a family, including a one-and-a-half-year-old girl, from Chennai were killed and four injured in a road accident on the Madurai–Tiruchy highway near Melur early on Tuesday.

Rajakumari (51), her sons, Balaji (31) and Sriram (27), Sriram's wife Ranjana, and their one-and-a-half-year-old daughter Praneeka Sri died on the spot. Police and Fire and Rescue Services personnel rescued Rajakumari’s husband Kanagaraj (55) from the wreckage.

He sustained grievous injuries and was rushed to the Government Rajaji Hospital.

The family was travelling to Kovilpatti in Thoothukudi after Balaji's wife, Aishwarya, gave birth to a baby in Kovilpatti. Balaji had travelled separately by bus and joined his family near Villupuram to travel together.

When the car driven by Sriram reached near the Thumbaipatti bridge, it grazed a motorcycle carrying two men. It then hit the median, crossed into the opposite carriageway, overturned and rolled several times. Worsening the accident, another car travelling from Madurai towards Tiruchy collided with the vehicle.

Prakash of Madurai, who was travelling in the other car, and the two motorcyclists, Murugan (55) and Murugan (40) of SV Mangalam near Singampunari, sustained injuries. They were admitted to the Melur Government Hospital for treatment.

After a prolonged rescue operation, the bodies of the five victims were retrieved from the mangled car and sent to the Melur Government Hospital for post-mortem examination.

Madurai Collector M Nishanth Krishna and Superintendent of Police BK Arvind Devanathan inspected the accident site and later visited the hospital to console the injured and their relatives.

Traffic on the four-lane highway was diverted through the service road for several hours following the accident.