7 women died, over 10 injured after truck collides stationary van on Chennai-Bengaluru Highway

Chennai: A horrifying accident on the Chennai-Bengaluru highway resulted in the loss of seven lives, with at least 10 individuals sustaining injuries, as a speeding truck collided with a stationary tourist van in Tamil Nadu’s Tirupattur district during the early hours of Monday, as reported by the police.

The tragic incident unfolded in Sandiyur near Natrampalli town when a tourist van, hired by a group of around 40 people from the Peranampattai and Onankuttai villages in Vellore, was parked on the right side of the highway. The van had come to a halt due to a tire puncture, and the driver was engaged in repair work.

According to authorities, the passengers had embarked on a pilgrimage in two tourist vans to Karnataka on September 8 and were returning home. When one of the vans experienced a tire puncture, all passengers disembarked and sought refuge on the grassy median.

At approximately 3 am, a Chennai-bound truck carrying goods crashed into the stationary van from behind, oblivious to its immobile state. The impact caused the van to topple over, tragically claiming the lives of the women who were seated near the median.

Bystanders alerted the Natrampalli police and ambulance services, who swiftly arrived at the scene. Injured individuals were promptly rescued and transported to government hospitals in Tirupattur and Krishnagiri for medical attention.

The deceased victims have been identified as P Selvi (55), M Meera (51), S Devaki (50), K Kalavathi (50), K Savitri (42), R Geethanjali (35), and D Deivanai (32).

Tirupattur Collector D Baskara Pandian visited the families of the victims and announced that the administration would take measures to provide financial aid to support the education of the deceased’s children.