Thrissur: The eight engineering students from Dindigul in Tamil Nadu who were killed in a road accident at Kaipamangalam in Thrissur had undertaken the trip without informing the college authorities, the institution said on Saturday. Local residents, however, raised questions over National Highway 66 safety and the parking of heavy vehicles along the stretch.
College officials said they came to know about the accident and the deaths of the students only after Kerala Police contacted them early on Saturday morning.
As the institution was closed for a holiday, the students are believed to have organised the trip privately.
One of the deceased students, Santhosh, was staying in the college hostel but had gone home before joining the journey, officials said.
College representatives and relatives of the victims have since left for Thrissur.
The eight young men were killed in the accident on National Highway 66 at Kaipamangalam when the car in which they were travelling crashed into a stationary truck around midnight.
Five occupants reportedly died on the spot while the rest died later. The bodies were taken to Thrissur Medical College Hospital for post-mortem examinations before being handed over to their families.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) maintained that the car was travelling at excessive speed when the accident occurred.
It said adequate warning signs and safety arrangements had been put in place along the highway and assured cooperation with the investigation.
Local residents, however, raised questions over highway safety and the parking of heavy vehicles along the stretch.
They alleged that three trucks had been parked illegally on the road at the time of the accident and that drivers of two vehicles subsequently left the area with their trucks.
Residents also pointed to poor lighting, the absence of speed breakers and the positioning of direction boards as factors contributing to accidents.
They said vehicles entering the highway from service roads often travel at high speeds, while trucks parked along the carriageway pose a serious danger at night.
The Kaipamangalam stretch has witnessed serious accidents in the past and actor and mimicry artiste Kollam Sudhi was killed in a road accident in the area.
Minister O.J. Janeesh Kumar said allegations regarding negligent parking of the truck would be investigated. He also criticised the NHAI over safety arrangements during highway construction and said authorities had earlier been asked to provide adequate warnings and safeguards.
Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash.
(IANS)
