Madurai: Five people from Chennai, including a three-year-old girl, were killed and two others seriously injured in a multiple-vehicle accident after a car lost control, crossed the median and collided head-on with another vehicle near Melur in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai district on Monday.
The accident occurred on the Thumbaipatti four-lane road overbridge when a car carrying five members of a group was travelling from Chennai towards Tirunelveli along the National Highway.
According to police, the car first rammed into a two-wheeler travelling ahead of it while passing over the flyover. Following the collision, the driver apparently lost control of the vehicle, which veered across the median and entered the opposite carriageway.
Within moments, the out-of-control car crashed head-on into another car coming from the opposite direction.
The second vehicle was travelling from Madurai towards Tiruchy when the collision occurred. The impact of the crash was severe, leaving the Chennai-bound vehicle badly damaged.
Five occupants were killed on the spot before emergency personnel could reach them.
Police identified four of the deceased as Sriman of Madipakkam in Chennai, Rajakumari, Ranja and three-year-old Pranika. They were reported to be members of the same family. The identity of the fifth person, who was travelling along with the family, was yet to be established.
Following information about the accident, personnel from the Fire and Rescue Services Department, Melur police and the 108 ambulance service rushed to the spot and launched rescue operations.
Two persons who sustained grievous injuries were pulled out of the damaged vehicles and taken to the Melur Government Hospital for treatment.
Police said one of the injured was travelling in the car from Chennai, while the other was an occupant of the second car that was heading towards Tiruchy.
The bodies of the five victims were recovered from the wreckage and sent to the government hospital for post-mortem examination.
The accident led to severe traffic disruption on the busy four-lane stretch as damaged vehicles and rescue operations blocked movement for some time.
Police personnel regulated traffic and subsequently cleared the vehicles from the road to restore normal movement. The Melur police have registered a case and initiated an investigation to ascertain the exact sequence of events leading to the accident.
(IANS)
