Eleven people died on Sunday, November 30, when two state-run buses ran into each other head-on in Sivaganga district, Tamil Nadu. The Hindustan Times, citing the news agency PTI and a senior police official, said the dead were eight women, two men and a child.
Both vehicles belonged to the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation. The News Minute reported that one bus was heading from Karaikudi to Devakottai and the other from Devakottai to Dindigul. They collided at around 5 pm near Vivekananda Polytechnic College, close to Kummangudi. The Hindustan Times put the spot about 15 km from Karaikudi.
The injury count differs by outlet. The News Minute said more than 50 passengers were hurt, while the police official quoted by PTI spoke of over 20 taken to government hospitals. Patients went to the government hospitals in Karaikudi, Thirupathur and Sivaganga.
Who died, and why
One of the dead was P Sendrayan, 36, from Batlagundu, who was driving one of the buses. Six victims had been named by the time The News Minute filed its report: Chellam, 55, of Chokkalingapuram; Mallika, 61, from Ariyakudi; Muthumari, 60, of Singampunari; Kalpana, 36, from Karaikudi; Gunalakshmi, 55, who lived at the Sri Lankan Tamils rehabilitation camp in Devakottai; and Deivanai, 55, of Pudukkottai.
The cause was not settled. “It was a head-on collision, the reason is not clear, we are looking into it,” the police official told PTI. The News Minute reported that, according to early accounts, one bus swerved to miss a woman crossing the road.
Rescue and relief
Superintendent of Police R Shiva Prasad reached the site with officers and fire and rescue crews, who carried out the rescue work.
Chief Minister MK Stalin sent Minister KR Periyakaruppan and the district collector to coordinate the operation. From the Chief Minister’s General Relief Fund, he announced Rs 3 lakh for the family of each person killed, Rs 1 lakh for each seriously injured passenger and Rs 50,000 for those with minor injuries.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences and an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to each bereaved family, plus Rs 50,000 for the injured, from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund. President Droupadi Murmu, Governor RN Ravi and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami also expressed condolences.
A second crash in a week
The Hindustan Times called it the second major head-on bus collision in Tamil Nadu within a week. Days earlier, six people died and more than 50 were hurt in Tenkasi district, according to ANI. NDTV reported that a private bus from Madurai to Senkottai and another heading from Tenkasi toward Kovilpatti had rammed each other there, leaving both vehicles mangled.
Sources
- Tamil Nadu bus tragedy: 11 killed, over 50 injured after buses collide
- At Least 11 Dead, 20 Injured in Head-On Collision Between Two Govt Buses in Tamil Nadu's Sivaganga
- At least 11 dead after two buses collide head-on in Tamil Nadu’s Sivaganga
