MADURAI: Six people were killed and 40 others were injured in an accident involving a private bus and a govt bus near Kottampatti, Melur, in Madurai district on Monday. According to police sources, the accident happened in the early hours when a Kanyakumari-bound private bus driven by Suresh Kumar, carrying 43 people from Chennai, was travelling on the Trichy-Madurai National Highway. Around 2.30am when the bus was nearing Vanjinagaram near Kottampatti, the driver suddenly lost control and turned right and entered the opposite lane and hit the govt bus head-on. The govt bus was carrying 48 passengers and was bound for Trichy from Madurai. The private bus subsequently collided with a bus shelter.Those who were killed in the accident were identified as Siriya Pushpam, 56, of Palayamkottai, Tirunelveli; Anandaraj, 46, of E Pudur, Trichy; Surya, 29, of Police Colony, Trichy; Mohammad Yasin, 60, of Koothanallur, Tiruvarur; and Abraham, 40, of Thisayanvilai, Tirunelveli, who were traveling in both buses. Perumal, 71, of Vanjinagaram, who was sleeping at the bus shelter, later died of injuries at Govt Rajaji Hospital, Madurai. Around 40 people received treatment in govt hospitals, while six were referred to Govt Rajaji Hospital, for further care.On receiving information, police and two teams of fire and rescue personnel reached the spot and commenced the rescue operation, causing a brief halt in traffic on the busy highway. The rescue operation went on for around four hours. DIG (Madurai range) Abhinav Kumar and district superintendent of police N Devanathan inspected the accident site.During preliminary investigation, police suspected that the private bus driver could have dozed off at the wheels and lost control. A case was registered by the Kottampatti police, and an investigation is underway. Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay expressed condolences and announced a compensation of Rs 3 lakh each to the family members of the deceased, Rs 1 lakh to people who suffered serious injuries, and Rs 50,000 for those who suffered minor injuries.
