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5 schoolkids among 9 dead in Kerala crash
Police said the accident took place, when the tourist bus was driving at 97 km per hour and hit the rear end of the state-run bus while attempting to overtake a car along the Walayar-Vadakkancherry road. The deceased include five students, a teacher and three KSRTC passengers.
Nine people, including five schoolchildren, were killed, and 22 sustained injuries after a speeding tourist bus rammed into a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation bus, at Vadakkencherry in Palakkad district in the early hours of Thursday, police said.
Police said the accident took place, when the tourist bus was driving at 97 km per hour and hit the rear end of the state-run bus while attempting to overtake a car along the Walayar-Vadakkancherry road. The deceased include five students, a teacher and three KSRTC passengers.
“The tourist bus was cruising at a high speed and lost control and hit the KSRTC bus in the rear. We will strengthen safety norms in all private buses,” said transport minister Antony Raju, who ordered an inquiry into the mishap. The minister said school authorities have also ignored the transport department’s directive to get the tour vehicle inspected and verify the track record of the driver before contracting a carriage for the tour. The driver of tourist bus, J Joemon, who was absconding after the mishap, was later arrested, an official added.
Taking suo motu cognisance of the incident, the Kerala high court rapped the state government over road safety protocols and directed the transport safety officials to appear before it on Friday. “Issuing circulars is of no use, take action,” said Justice Devan Ramachandran, terming the accident “heart-breaking”.
Officials familiar with the matter said the tourist bus was carrying 42 schoolchildren and five teachers. A survivor said some of them complained about the high speed, but the driver brushed it aside saying: “I am an experienced master driver.”
President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among several who condoled the deaths. The PM has also announced ₹2 lakh ex gratia for the kin of the deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured.
