Toll rises to 20 in TN bus tragedy; survivors shell shocked

Tragedy struck 48 passengers of an ill-fated Kerala transport bus at Tirupur in Tamil Nadu on Thursday, when the vehicle collided with a lorry head on, leaving atleast 20 dead and many injured and was reduced to a heap of metal in the impact.

All the 20 were killed on the spot and six of the victims were women, police said. The crash happened at Avinashi town in Tirupur, 40 km from here.

The mangled remains of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus gave a picture of the severe hit it took, after the container lorry entered the wrong lane and rammed into it.

The injured have been admitted to hospitals in Tirupur, while some have been referred to Coimbatore.

Most of deceased have been identified, Palakkad Superintendent of Police Siva Vikram told PTI.

"It was a high speed collision. The container lorry lost control. We do not know if the driver dozed off or the tyre burst."
"The lorry entered the wrong lane and crashed into the KSRTC bus coming in the opposite direction," he said adding "We are taking the names and details."