Keralam, Sep 5: Eight engineering students from Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul were killed when their car rammed into a lorry parked “illegally” on NH-66 in Thrissur district of central Keralam, police said on Saturday.
According to news agency PTI, the accident occurred at around 11.40 pm on Friday at Panambikkunnu in Kaipamangalam, when the car, which was travelling from Guruvayur towards Kodungallur, collided with the rear of the Maharashtra-registered lorry, police said.
Chief Minister V Sateesan in a post on X said he was deeply saddened by the tragic road accident in Thrissur that claimed the lives of eight students from Tamil Nadu. “Heartfelt condolences to the grieving families, and prayers for the swift recovery of those injured,” the CM said . Tamil Nadu Chief Minister S. Joseph Vijay condoled the accident.
Necessary instructions have been issued to the authorities to expedite all official procedures and hand over the mortal remains to their families without delay, he further said. FIR on the incident said the lorry was parked illegally on the right side of the highway near a barricaded section where traffic had been diverted as part of ongoing construction work. Police said the car was travelling at high speed and its driver apparently failed to notice the diversion barricade before ramming into the rear of the lorry.
Six students died on the spot, while two others were declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital, police said. The victims were students of an engineering college in Dindigul and were travelling towards Kodungallur along NH-66.
