The mangled remains of the vehicles after they collided on Tindivanam-Krishnagiri National Highway near Chengam in Tiruvannamalai on October 23, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Seven men including five Assam natives, were killed on the spot after a SUV in which they were travelling collided with a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) bus on Tindivanam-Krishnagiri National Highway 77 at Anthanoor bus stop near Chengam town in Tiruvannamalai district on Monday, October 23, 2023.
This is the second major accident in the district in recent days. On October 15, seven persons including two children and a woman had died after the car they were travelling collided with a lorry near Chengam town.
Police identified the victims as R. Kuncha Rai (24), S. Narayan Sethi (35), C. Bhinmal Tirth (28), B. Dallu (26), and V. Nicholas (22), all natives of Assam; and S. Puneeth Kumar (23) and G. Kamaraj (29), who hailed from Denkanikottai and Marampatti villages in Krishnagiri district respectively.
Attempt to overtake?
Police suspect Puneeth, who drove the vehicle, had attempted to overtake a vehicle when it collided with an oncoming bus from Bengaluru.
None of the bus passengers or crew was injured.
Four co-passengers of the SUV K. Stephen Ora (44), V. Samun Orangi (26), B. Kismoth (30) and Pichesi Murmu (29) were injured and have been admitted at the Government Medical College Hospital in Tiruvannamalai town, around 55 kms from the accident spot.
Doctors at the hospital said Kismoth and Orangi have been put on ventilator.
The accident occurred around 9.20 p.m. Police said the victims, who worked in a gum factory near Hosur town, were returning after a visit to Puducherry when the SUV collided with the bus. In the impact, the SUV was mangled. Motorists alerted the Mel Chengam police, who along with help from locals, retrieved the bodies from the SUV and shifted the injured persons to the government hospital in Tiruvannamalai town.
Tiruvannamalai Collector B. Murugesh, K. Karthikeyan, SP, M.S. Muthusawy, DIG (Vellore range), and M. P. Giri, MLA (Chengam), visited the spot.
Traffic was hit on the route for more than an hour following the accident. A team of traffic police personnel regulated the traffic. A case has been filed by Mel Chengam police.
Further investigation is on.