At least 19 people have died in a horrific bus accident in Tamil Nadu's Tirupur early on Thursday morning. The accident took place on the Coimbatore highway.

A Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) collided with a container truck in Coimbatore, fatally wounding many passengers. The truck was reportedly moving on the wrong side of the road.

23 passengers have been injured apart from the 19 who have died. All 48 seats of the bus were booked, officials fear the toll might further go up.

The truck driver is absconding while police have launched a hunt to look for him.

The state-run Volvo bus was on its way to Bengaluru from Ernakulam when it met with an accident. The bus hit the truck near Avinashi town of Tirupur district, killing many of the passengers.

Deputy Tehsildar of Avinashi said, "19 people, including 14 men and 5 women, died in the collision between a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation bus and a truck near Avinashi town of Tirupur district."

The bus was going to Thiruvananthapuram from Bengaluru while the lorry was coming from the opposite direction on the Coimbatore-Salem Highway when the mishap occurred at 4.30 am.

Kerala Transport Minister A K Saseendhran said most of the casualties are natives of Palakkad, Thrissur and Ernakulam.

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

The CM has also said that all possible relief measures will be taken in cooperation with the government of Tamil Nadu and the District Collector of Tirupur.