Date:15/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/15/stories/2008121553080400.htm

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

Three killed, 10 injured in collision

Staff Reporter

The accident occurred when the bus tried to overtake a crane vehicle

Photo: K. Ananthan

mangled remains: A bus going to Ernakulam from Bangalore that rammed into a mobile crane on a bypass road near Coimbatore on Sunday.—

Coimbatore: Three persons were killed and 10 injured when a Bangalore-Ernakulam private bus they were travelling in collided with a crane vehicle on the bypass road between Neelambur and Sulur here in the small hours of Sunday.

While Jaison James (25) of Aryankavu in Kollam in Kerala and Madheyan Subramaniam (32) died on the spot, the bus driver, Fastin Babu (42) of Erode, succumbed to injuries at a private hospital.

Police said the accident occurred around 3.05 a.m. when the bus tried to overtake a vehicle. The hydraulic equipment of the crane pierced the windscreen of the bus.

The relief and rescue team of the city police diverted the traffic on the bypass road and roped in the services of ambulances from a nearby hospital to get medical help for the injured.

City Police Commissioner K.C. Mahali, Deputy Commissioners of Police S. Rajendran (Law an Order) and K. Shanmugavel (Crime and Traffic) oversaw the rescue operations. Fire and Rescue Services personnel, led by Deputy Director R. Balsamy and Additional Divisional Fire Officer Subburaj, set about removing the portion of the crane that was stuck in the bus.

The private bus operator provided a spare vehicle for the other passengers to reach their destination.

Those admitted to the hospital were identified as Thoby Jojo (16) of Aluva, Philan Jojo (4) of Ernakulam, Tibin (26), Thomas Mathew (40), Salim (25) and Akhilesh Chawan of Coimbatore, Riya Roy (22) of Ernakulam, Aishwarya (21) of Kottayam, Fr. Jose (49) of Ernakulam and Madan Kumar (28) of Bangalore. The Police Commissioner told The Hindu that the bypass road would be taken up for study as part of the Micro Level Traffic Planning Study Programme for measures to check fatal accidents.

Sign boards

To start with, caution sign boards, sign boards with the phone numbers of nearest hospitals, police stations and mentioning police jurisdictions would be placed along the road.