Eight Tamil Nadu students killed as car crashes into stationary lorry on Kerala highway
Eight people, including seven engineering students from Tamil Nadu, were killed after their car crashed into a stationary lorry on National Highway-66 in Kerala’s Thrissur district late on Friday, September 4.
The accident occurred at around 11.40 pm near Panambikunnu Centre in Kaipamangalam. Police said the passengers were students of an engineering college in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu.
Preliminary information identified seven of the deceased as Vishwa, Santhosh, Prasanna, Muraleekrishnan, Surya, Yuva Sanjith and Joshua. The identity of the eighth victim is yet to be established.
The Tamil Nadu-registered car was travelling from the Guruvayur side towards Kodungallur when it slammed into the rear of a Maharashtra-registered lorry parked along the roadside. Police said three lorries were reportedly stationed in the area at the time.
Initial reports indicate that the car may have been travelling at high speed. CCTV footage shows the vehicle approaching along the highway, although the lorry involved in the collision falls outside the camera’s view. A cloud of dust can be seen immediately after the impact.
The collision completely crushed the car, trapping its occupants inside. People sleeping in one of the nearby parked lorries heard the crash and alerted local residents.
Police, fire and rescue teams rushed to the scene. Rescue personnel had to cut through the badly damaged vehicle to remove the victims.
Senior police officers also reached the location as rescue operations continued. The bodies were initially taken to private hospitals in Kodungallur before being shifted to the mortuary at Thrissur Medical College.
The accident took place on a stretch of NH-66 where construction work is currently in progress. Local residents said the area has witnessed several accidents in the past.
Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash, including the speed of the vehicle and the conditions at the construction-affected stretch of the highway.