Three Dead as Tipper Lorry Crashes Into Bus Stop in Kollam

Kollam: Three people were killed after a tipper lorry collided with a Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle and then overturned onto a group of people, including students, who were waiting for a bus near Neeleswaram, Neduvathoor, close to Kottarakkara.

The deceased have been identified as Harilal (54) of Lakshmi Cottage, Maroor, Kadakode, the Bullet rider; Parthip (15), a Class 10 student of Kottarakkara Carmel School residing at Preetha Bhavan, Neeleswaram; and Ajayan (50), a KSRTC employee residing at Anagha Bhavan, Neeleswaram.

The tipper lorry driver, Nizam (40), along with Naveneeth (13), Rishaf (15), Kushal, Rishabh Boban (15) and Jibi Mol (15), sustained injuries and are undergoing treatment at various hospitals.

The accident occurred at around 7.10 am on Tuesday at Neeleswaram Mukkoni Mukku on the Kottarakkara-Ambalathumkala road. The tipper lorry, travelling at high speed from the Ambalapuram side, was entering the Kottarakkara-Ambalathumkala road when the collision took place.

The Bullet, travelling on the same route, had stopped to enter the main road when it was hit by the tipper. The lorry, after colliding with the bike, careened forward, crashed through a boundary wall near the bus stop and overturned, burying those waiting for the bus under the mud it was carrying.

Local residents and passengers from a bus that arrived shortly after the accident were the first to begin rescue efforts. Fire force personnel and police from Kottarakkara subsequently arrived and used a JCB excavator to clear the mud. Pits dug nearby for laying telephone cables were also present at the site.

The injured were admitted to Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital, Kottarakkara Taluk Hospital and various private hospitals. Those caught in the accident were waiting for buses to go to work and school. Some narrowly escaped the tragedy.