T’PURAM: The pilgrimage of seven young friends residing at Athiyannoor panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram district turned tragic after the van they were travelling in collided with a bus in Thiruvarur in Tamil Nadu while they were headed to Velankanni on Sunday morning.
Four of them were killed while three sustained serious injuries after their Maruti Eeco van collided with a Tamil Nadu State Road Transport Corporation (TNSRTC) bus near a petrol pump at Karuveppanchery, just a few metres away from Muthupettai junction. The van was completely damaged in the collision as both vehicles were at high speed. The bus was on its way to Ervadi from Nagapattanam. The injured were admitted to Thiruthuraipoondi govt hospital first and later rushed to Thiruvarur medical college hospital after their condition turned critical.
The deceased were identified as Shaju, 28, Rahul, 29, Rajesh, 30, and Sajith, 29. The injured were Rajaneesh, 31, Sabu, 30, and Sunil, 31. All of them were natives of Nellimoodu and worked as drivers, except Shaju, who ran a mobile shop at Nellimoodu, and Sajith, who ran a workshop.
“They used to go on trips like this every month. They left for Velankanni at 8pm on Saturday, and the accident occurred at 6.30am on Sunday. The relatives of the deceased and injured reached Thiruvarur,” said Shiju KV, Nellimoodu ward member.
The bodies of the deceased are kept at the mortuary of the medical college for postmortem on Monday.
Veeraiyur police registered a case over the incident, but no one has been arrested so far.