Nine people, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed and four others injured near Tamil Nadu’s Valparai-Pollachi ghat road on Friday when a minivan carrying a group of teachers and students from Kerala lost control and plunged into a gorge.
The group from the Government Lower Primary School in Kerala’s Malappuram district, was travelling to Athirappilly and Pollachi, as part of a summer vacation excursion, when they met with the fatal accident.
Chittoor deputy superintendent of police Kuttykrishnan, told reporters, “Nine persons have been identified as dead and four others who are injured have been admitted to the Medical College hospital in Coimbatore. We are given to understand that there were 13 persons in the van including the driver.”
The deceased were identified as Ajitha (54), the school head-mistress, Ramla (52), Suhara (43), Asha (41), Majeed (43), Sajitha (45), Shakeela (37), Rukhiya (39) and Hisham (12). Most of the deceased are teachers of the government school.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan condoled the deaths of the school staff and promised all government assistance as part of medical treatment for the injured.
