Karnataka native killed, 30 injured as bus carrying Sabarimala pilgrims overturns near Erumely

Kottayam: A man was killed and 30 others were injured after a bus carrying Sabarimala pilgrims lost control and overturned at the accident-prone Kanamal Attivalavu near Erumely in the district around 6 am on Wednesday. The health condition of four is reported to be serious.

Maruti Hariharan, 40, a native of Hangal taluk in Karnataka, suffered a serious head injury and was killed in the mishap. The other injured were admitted to Kottayam medical college hospital after first aid treatment at nearby hospitals.

The bus, carrying 32 pilgrims from Karnataka, overturned on the road and slid down about 25feet and crashed into a ditch after hitting a crash barrier on the roadside. The crash barrier broke as soon as the bus crashed into it, said locals. A major tragedy was averted as the bus got stuck amongst rubber trees.

Meanwhile, some local residents said that the bus driver had inquired about a workshop saying that the bus had some technical snag around 5.15am. Though the driver was told that a mechanic would be available only by 6am, he decided to continue the journey, saying that it would be late by then. The accident occurred soon after.

Local residents launched the rescue efforts. The injured were shifted to nearby hospitals in a KSRTC bus that came by that way. Later, police and fire and rescue units also joined in.

In this highly accident-prone area, 14 passengers were killed after a bus overturned and fell into the gorge in 2008.