Five persons died on the spot and 43 others were injured in a road accident at Kalkothanur near Manapparai in Tiruchi district when a car collided with a government bus on Sunday evening.
Police sources said the car passengers belonged to K. Udaiyapatti village in Manapparai taluk and they had gone to a temple at Kanakkampatti near Palani in Dindigul district on Sunday. When they were returning to Manapparai, the driver of the car lost control over the vehicle after one of its tyres burst near Kalkothanur in Vaiyampatti police station limits on Tiruchi - Dindigul National Highway.
The car crossed the centre median and collided with a Dindigul-bound Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation bus that was coming in the opposite direction. In the impact, both the vehicles fell into a roadside pit and overturned.
Five persons who were travelling in the car were killed on the spot. Police identified them as P. Nagarathinam, 36, M. Muthamil Selvan, 48, G. Manikandan, 25, R. Ayyappan, 20, and S. Dheenadayalan, 20.
The Fire and Rescue Services rescued the passengers stuck inside the bus. Nearly 43 persons were injured in the accident in which 24 of them were admitted to the Government and private hospitals at Manapparai and 19 others were treated as outpatients, said police sources.
The Vaiyampatti police have registered a case and further investigations are on.
