A school trip ended in tragedy for students of the Baselios School in Mulanthuruthy, Ernakulam. Nine people, including five children, were killed after a tourist bus that they were travelling in, collided with a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus in Vadakkencherry, Palakkad in the late hours of Wednesday, October 5. The bus was taking students on a tour from Ernakulam to Ooty. According to reports, the tourist bus was travelling over the speed limit, and was trying to overtake the KSRTC bus when the two collided.
Twelve passengers were critically injured while 28 others sustained minor injuries. The bus was carrying a total of 49 people, including 41 students, five teachers and two employees working in the bus. The school had arranged for students of classes 10 to 12 to visit Ooty on a leisure tour.
The nine deceased include five students of the Baselios School, their teacher, and three passengers of the KSRTC bus. According to parents of the students who were not seriously injured, the students were not really aware of how the accident took place as they were all sleeping. Meanwhile, the driver and conductor of the KSRTC bus say that the tourist bus which was carrying the students was speeding and crashed into the rear of the KSRTC bus while trying to overtake it. "I was sitting in the back seat. I did not know what happened. I heard a sound and later managed to come out through the window. There were 42 students, five teachers and two drivers," a student told the media.
The KSRTC bus driver told Manorama that the tourist bus was being driven beyond the speed limit, and that he lost control of the KSRTC bus after the tourist bus hit it. Officials said that the driver may also have lost control due to the rains. Speaking to the media, the driver of the KSRTC bus said, “This is a Kottarakara-Coimbatore service bus. By the time we were in Thrissur, we were full in terms of passengers. We were dropping off people at every stop and proceeding. At Vadakanchery too, people got off. Suddenly a tourist bus rammed into the back of the transport bus and swerved towards the right. Our bus too dangerously swerved to the left due to the impact. With a lot of effort, I managed to stop the bus before it plunged into the swamp.”
The injured have been admitted to the Palakkad District Hospital and the police officers say that the casualties in the accident are likely to increase. The bodies of the deceased persons are in Palakkad and Alathur hospitals. Visuals from the spot show the KSRTC bus in a mangled condition, with one side completely missing and metal torn off the roof. The tour bus also sustained heavy damages, with glass from the windows and windshield broken.
Minister MB Rajesh said that the post mortem proceedings of the deceased persons will be expedited. He added that those undergoing treatment in the Palakkad hospital are not in danger. Shafi Parambil, the MLA representing the Palakkad constituency, also visited the accident spot and said that those travelling in both buses sustained severe injuries.