Six killed, 7 injured as van falls off bridge in TN

Thoothukudi, Jan 17 : Six people from Madhya Pradesh were killed and seven others injured three of them seriously, when a tempo traveller van in which they were on their way to Kanyakumari for an excursion fell off a bridge after crashing the parapet wall at Thalavaipuram, here on Wednesday.

Police said a group of tourists from Madhya Pradesh, who came to Tamil Nadu for a tour to the important pilgrim centres and tourist spots, hired the van from Madurai to see Kanyakumari.

The van driver G.Muthukamatchi, lost control while negotiating a curve on the road early this morning. The van crashed into the parapet wall of the narrow bridge and fell off from it.

On a complaint from the passerby, police rushed to the spot and rescued the injured from the van and admitted them to the government medical college hospital at Palayamkottai in neighbouring Tirunelveli district.

The deceased have been identified as Rekha, Vindhya, Deegam, Lal Chand, Ramesh Kumar and Kanayalal.

The injured occupants of the van were Sonam, Sarala, Sunitha, Chandra, Rootsey, driver Muthukamatchi and van cleaner Mukesh. Thoothukudi Superintendent of Police P.Mahendran visited the accident spot and held inquiry.