At least 20 passengers were killed including six women, and several others were injured after a container truck rammed into a Kochi bound Bangaluru-Kochi passenger bus in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu on February 20.

The accident took place near Avinashi town of Tirupur district, 40 km away from Coimbatore at 4:30 a, the police said. The truck had entered the wrong lane from the opposite direction on the Coimbatore-Salem Highway and crashed into the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation’s Volvo bus.

Of the 48 passengers, 19 had died on the spot. One person died later. Injured passengers were taken to hospitals in Tiruppur, and some were even referred to as Coimbatore. Officials fear death toll might rise.

The details of the deceased in #Avinashi #KSRTC accident. One #Karnataka native also killed in the accident. pic.twitter.com/XPHJl7zugT

— Pratheesh G Nair (@PratheeshGN) February 20, 2020

The mangled remains of the bus illustrate the severity of the accident. According to the police, the truck was laden with floor tiles and was heading towards Bengaluru from Kochi. According to The Times Of India report, the truck driver is alleged to have slept and lost control of the wheels. The driver of the truck is at large.

13 death confirmed at #Avinashi accident. The container lorry hit Kerala’s state Transport Bus at Avinashi bypass road. 23 passengers injured. 12 seats totally damaged in the accident. #Accident #TamilNadu #Coimbatore #KSRTC pic.twitter.com/drH1fDMimK

— Pratheesh G Nair (@PratheeshGN) February 20, 2020

Kerala Chief Minister – Pinarayi Vijayan has condoled the death of the victims and directed his directed the Transport Minister – A K Saseendran and Agriculture Minister VS Sunikumar to rush to Tamil Nadu to coordinate relief operations.

‘തമിഴ്നാട് അവിനാശിയിൽ ഉണ്ടായ വാഹനാപകടത്തിൽ പരിക്കേറ്റവർക്ക് അടിയന്തര വൈദ്യസഹായം നൽകാനും മരണമടഞ്ഞവരുടെ മൃതദേഹങ്ങൾ എത്രയും വേഗം നാട്ടിൽ എത്തിക്കാനും വേണ്ട സൗകര്യങ്ങൾ ഏർപ്പെടുത്തി. ഗതാഗത മന്ത്രി എ കെ ശശീന്ദ്രൻ, കൃഷി മന്ത്രി വി എസ് സുനിൽകുമാർ എന്നിവർ ഉടൻ സംഭവ സ്ഥലത്ത് എത്തിച്ചേരും.’ pic.twitter.com/t0FbG7LBqE

— CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) February 20, 2020

He has also instructed the Palakkad district collector to provide medical assistance to the injured and bring back the bodies those hailing from Kerala.

The Chief Minister’s Office said that they are in constant touch with Tiruppur district administration. It is believed that most of the passengers were from Palakkad, Ernakulam, and Thrissur districts of Kerala.

Passengers who had the narrow escape from this ill-fated accident are in shock and still cannot believe that their fellow passengers have lost their lives.

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