A Tamil Nadu league cricketer died and six other players were injured when the cars they were travelling in collided and fell off a bridge in Namakkal district on Monday evening.
Nine league players were in two cars, travelling from Kandapalayam after they had played a match. According to the Times of India, they were in Namakkal district to play a match held as part of the Pongal festival. After the game, they were on their way to a hotel in Paramathi Velur. The accident took place at around 4.15 pm.
The police told TNM that both cars were racing each other near Paramathi Velur when the incident took place.
"The two cars were trying to overtake one and other when the accident happened," said an investigating officer. "One person died on the spot, six were injured and two escaped unscathed.”
Reports suggest that the drivers were attempting to avoid hitting a woman who was crossing the Salem-Madurai highway. When the first car hit the brakes, the second one rammed into it from behind. The two cars then fell off the bridge.
A player from Thanjavur, identified as Prabhakar, died on the spot. The others, who were injured, were rushed to government hospitals in Salem and Erode. The Nallur police have registered a case and investigations are underway.
The other players are from across the state, including Coimbatore and Cuddalore.
In a separate incident in Krishangiri district, six people died and 27 others sustained injuries when a car hit a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation bus near Hosur on Sunday evening. The bus fell on its side when its driver tried to avoid a collision with the car. The bus rolled over and fell into a roadside pit. The conductor passed away on the spot.
According to reports, the accident happened when the car driver lost his control over the vehicle. The car rammed the median of the Bengaluru-Chennai National Highway at Gurubarathapalli, near Shoolagiri.