Seven people were killed on Saturday, April 2 after a mini van toppled in Javadhumalai area in Tirupathur district of Tamil Nadu. The incident happened allegedly as the driver lost control of the vehicle after hitting an electric post and the vehicle then plunged downhill.
There were 26 passengers in the vehicle, who were travelling to a nearby village for a festival, when the incident happened. Ten people were seriously injured in the accident and are undergoing treatment.
Emergency teams have rushed to the spot and the injured are being brought to Tirupathur government hospital. Chief Minister M K Stalin offered his condolences to the bereaved families and announced an ex-gratia of Rs two lakh each to the kin of those who died. He also announced a relief of Rs 50,000 for the families of those injured.
Around 30 devotees from Puliyur village were proceeding to a temple located on the hilltop of Sembarai in the district when the mishap took place.
The driver of the truck, while negotiating a curve on the ghat road lost control of the vehicle leading to the accident, a police official told PTI.
"We received information that seven people died and 22 others were injured in the accident. Officials have gone to the spot for further investigation," the official said.
Expressing grief over the deaths, Stalin said, "... I have ordered authorities to speed up the treatment to the injured at the district government hospital."
A case has been registered and further investigations are on, police said.
Earlier, on March 28, an eight-year-old boy died after he was run over by a school van inside the school campus where he studied. The accident happened when the driver was reversing the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle was later arrested.
The van had just finished dropping students at the school in Alwartirunagar in Chennai, when the driver was reversing the vehicle and the young boy came under its wheels. The deceased was identified as VJ Theeksheth, a class 2 student in a private matriculation school.
With PTI inputs