Thrissur: Eight people were killed after a Tamil Nadu registered car crashed into the rear of a parked goods lorry on National Highway 66 at Panambikkunnu in Kaipamangalam, Thrissur district, late on Friday night.
The crash occurred at about 11:40 pm as the car was travelling from Guruvayur towards Kodungallur. The vehicle collided with the rear of a Maharashtra registered goods lorry that was parked along the highway.
Seven of those killed were engineering students from Dindigul in Tamil Nadu, according to police information. The eighth person was the driver of the car.
The accident happened on a section of National Highway 66 where construction work is under way. The lorry was parked near a diversion created for traffic because of the ongoing road work.
Information emerging from the investigation indicates that the lorry was parked on the right side of the highway near a barricaded section of the diversion. The First Information Report reportedly describes the lorry as being parked illegally.
Police are also examining the movement of the car before the crash. Preliminary information indicates that the car was travelling at high speed and may not have noticed the diversion before hitting the lorry.
The circumstances surrounding the collision remain under investigation. The available information does not establish that either the car driver or the lorry operator was solely responsible for the crash.
The impact badly damaged the car and trapped the people inside. Local residents, police and Fire and Rescue Services personnel reached the scene and began efforts to remove the occupants.
Rescuers had to cut open the damaged vehicle to remove the people inside. The bodies were later taken to a private hospital in Kodungallur for further procedures.
An identity card connected to PSNA Engineering College in Dindigul was reportedly recovered from the accident site. The information helped establish the connection between some of the victims and the engineering college.
Some victim identities have been reported, but authorities were continuing the formal identification process. Differences in the spelling of some names in early reports also mean that a complete list of names should be published only after official confirmation.
CCTV footage from the area is also being examined. Reports indicate that footage captured the car travelling along the highway before the collision. However, the available footage does not show the parked lorry clearly and therefore does not establish the complete sequence of events immediately before the crash.
The position of the parked lorry is an important part of the investigation because the accident occurred near a road diversion on a section under construction. Police are also examining the circumstances in which the car approached the diversion.
The crash has highlighted the dangers that can arise when vehicles and traffic diversions are present on a busy highway construction site. However, the investigation is still under way and the precise circumstances that led to the collision have not yet been established.
Kaipamangalam police are continuing to investigate the crash and establish how the collision occurred. Further information is expected as authorities complete the identification process and examine the evidence from the accident site.