At least 20 people were killed and several injured in a major accident in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore early on Thursday morning after a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus collided with a container truck.

© ani KSRTC bus accident: The bus was on its way to Ernakulam from Bengaluru

The bus was on its way to Kerala’s Ernakulam from Karnataka’s Bengaluru and the accident took place in Avinashi town.



A Coimbatore police official confirmed to The Indian Express that 20 people were killed in the accident.

The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) PRO said both the driver and conductor were among those killed in the accident.

“Preliminary information from Kerala SRTC people says that both driver and conductor have died. The Scania Multi-axle bus left Shanthi Nagar bus station in Bengaluru at 8.15 pm yesterday.”

Very sad news: 16 + people feared dead in a collision between a kerala bus and a truck near Avinashi town of Tirupur district. The bodies have been taken to Tirupur government hospital. More details awaited. #tirupur pic.twitter.com/cSbq1rQS2D — K.S (@sathiyanaathan) February 20, 2020

Kerala Transport Minister A K Saseendran said, "48 passengers were on board. 42 of them are from Kerala, going to Ernakulam, Palakkad, Thrissur." The bodies have been taken to the Tirupur government hospital. Kerala ministers VS Sunil Kumar and Saseendran are heading to the spot.

Friends / Relatives of the passengers who travelled in the #Kerala State Transport Corporation Bus that met with an unfortunate #Accident early this morning near #Avinashi #Tiruppur can contact : Alagarasan 7708331194 in case of any assistance or help needed. — Vijayakarthikeyan K (@Vijaykarthikeyn) February 20, 2020

Deputy Tehsildar of Tiruppur, Alagarasan said, "The accident took place at 3:30 am today. Over 100 officers including police and medical staff are carrying out the rescue work." He also said the container was coming in the wrong direction and rammed into the bus.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has instructed the District Collector of Palakkad to provide emergency medical care to the accident victims. Procedures to identify the deceased are in progress.

Some of the dead have been identified as Rossley from Palakkad, Gireesh (Ernakulam), Igni Rafael (Ollur, Thrissur), Kiran Kumar, Haneesh (Thrissur), Sivakumar (Ottapalam), Rajesh K. (Palakkad), Gismon Shaju (Thuravoor), Naseeb Mohammed (Thrissur).

"All possible relief measures will be taken in cooperation with the government of Tamil Nadu and the District Collector of Tirupur," ANI quoted the CMO as saying.

Karishma K, who was a passenger on board, said the accident happened around 3.15 am. Talking to The Indian Express, she said all the passengers were sleeping at the time of the accident and that she wasn't injured. "I couldn't recollect exactly that moment. I sat right behind the conductor's seat, second row on the left side. When I opened my eyes, I had a totally open view on my right side. A passenger sitting on my right side was still conscious. Several rows on my right side behind the driver seat were totally gone when the lorry rammed into the bus," she said.

As the entire front portion of the bus was destroyed, Karishma said she managed to come out of the bus through the baggage chamber below, which was broke open by rescue teams. "Some passengers managed to jump through the window while some whee seen breaking the window glasses to come out," she said.

Meanwhile, in another accident in Tamil Nadu, five people were killed in a collision between a private omni luxury bus and a mini-bus, which was on its way to Rajasthan from Kanyakumari.



