Nine people were killed and over 50 injured when a tourist bus carrying school children rammed into a KSRTC bus at Vadakkancherry in the district in the early hours of Thursday.
Five of those who died were students of Baselios Vidyaniketan School, Vettikkal, Mulanthuruthy, Kochi. The tourist bus was carrying 42 students and five teachers of the school to Ooty. The KSRTC bus was going from Kottarakkara to Coimbatore. 49 passengers were on board the KSRTC bus.
overtake by mistake
The accident happened when the tourist bus tried to overtake a car. After hitting the KSRTC bus, the tourist bus overturned and landed in the marshy area.
Local Administration Minister MB Rajesh said that five students and three KSRTC passengers were among the dead. A teacher also died in the accident.
The dead included physical education teacher VK Vishnu, 33, higher education students Anjana Ajith, 17, and CS Emmanuel, 17, and class 10 students Bon Thomas, 15, Diya Rajesh, 15, and Elna Jose, 15.
The deceased KSRTC passengers have been identified as 24-year-old Rohit Raj, 22-year-old O. Anoop and Kollam as Deepu.
The condition of many of the injured remains critical. He was admitted to Government Medical College, Thrissur and District Hospital, Palakkad.
Overspeed and possibly tired
Transport Minister Antony Raju told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram that the tourist bus was running well above the legal speed limit, estimated at 97.2 kmph.
He said the driver was probably tired. Preliminary information received by the government indicated that he had just returned from Velankanni’s three-day visit.
The bus owner had hired him for long distance drives without any allowance for enough rest to “squeeze the profit”. The owner also wanted a quick turnaround to expedite tour operations.
school officials
Mr Raju said that the school authorities have ignored the transport department’s circular that the regional transport officers inspect the fitness of the bus and verify the driver’s track record before contracting the vehicle for student tours. However, the school administration did not inform the transport department.
Mr Raju said that the accident happened due to several violations. He told Transport Commissioner S. Sreejit was entrusted with the task of investigating immediately after reaching the spot.
Mr Raju said that the government will ensure that the tourist buses follow the road safety norms. It will also impound buses with blinding lights and deaf horn and sound systems. He said such illegal spare fittings affected the driver’s concentration and harassed other road users.
Devasam minister K. Radhakrishnan indicated that the state would compensate the victims. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is on a European tour, will take the final decision.
The ministers said the police had not yet completed the identification process. They will soon release the casualty list.