At least eight engineering students from Tamil Nadu were killed in a road accident in Kerala’s Thrissur district after the car they were travelling in crashed into a parked lorry, police said.
The accident took place around 11:40 pm on Friday at Panambikkunnu in Kaipamangalam, along NH-66.
According to police, the students were from an engineering college in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, and were travelling from Guruvayur towards Kodungallur when the accident occurred.
Six victims identified
Police have identified six of the eight deceased students.
Four victims — Surya, Yuvasanjith, Vishva and Johua — were from Dindigul, while Santhosh and Prasanna were from Madurai. The identities of the remaining two victims were yet to be confirmed, police said.
The victims were travelling in a Tamil Nadu-registered car that collided with a Maharashtra-registered lorry parked on the highway.
Car crashes into parked lorry
According to the FIR, the lorry was allegedly parked on the right side of the highway near a barricaded section where traffic had been diverted because of ongoing construction work.
The car reportedly crashed into the rear of the stationary lorry. Police said the car was travelling at high speed and that its driver apparently failed to notice the diversion barricade before the collision.
All eight students died at the scene, according to police.
Lorry driver booked
Kaipamangalam police have registered a case against the lorry driver, who reportedly fled the spot.
The driver has been booked under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for culpable homicide, police said. Further investigation is underway.
Families contacted using identity cards
Police used identity cards recovered from the victims’ bodies to contact their families. Officials said some families were unaware that the students had travelled to Kerala.
The victims were pulled from the wreckage during a rescue operation involving local residents, fire and rescue personnel and police.
Their bodies were subsequently taken to the mortuary at Thrissur Medical College.
Postmortem examinations are expected to begin after the families of the deceased arrive at the medical college, police said.
