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7 killed, 33 hurt in Tiruchi bus smash

By Our Staff Reporter

TIRUCHI NOV. 12. Seven persons, including six women, were killed and 33 others injured when two mofussil buses collided head-on near the Tiruchi airport on the Tiruchi-Pudukottai Highway this afternoon.

While three persons died on the spot, four others were declared dead in hospital. The first few rows of seats on the right side of both the buses were ripped apart.

The private bus, going from Tiruchi to Tirupattur, came to a halt a few yards away, in front of a Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation godown, after dashing against the State Transport Corporation bus, coming here from Karaikudi. The baggage and other personal belongings of the passengers lay strewn around amid pools of blood at the accident spot.

The conductor of the STC bus said he had just blown the whistle for a halt at the airport stop when the collision took place, right in front of the airport police station, at about 2.15 p.m.

Locals and police personnel extricated the injured from the badly-damaged vehicles. They were taken to the Tiruchi K.A.P.Viswanatham Government Medical College Hospital. Among the injured, 11 were women. Both the drivers sustained grievous injuries. One of the critically injured was shifted to a private hospital in the city.

Only two of the deceased were identified so far: Hemalatha (17), daughter of Rajmohan of Vathukara Street, Woraiyur, Tiruchi; and Hassana (36), wife of Feroze Khan of Aranthangi.

Local residents blamed ``rash driving'' by bus crews for frequent accidents on the road and demanded strict enforcement of speed regulations on the highway.

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