Eight injured as coal-laden lorry rams govt bus near Mettupalayam

A TNSTC bus toppled and eight persons, including its crew, were injured after a rashly driven lorry crashed into the bus at an intersection near Coimbatore on Monday morning.

The bus driven by Thangavel (59) and bound to Sathyamangalam left the Mettupalayam bus stand at 7.45 am. There were more than 15 passengers in it. 

Around 8.30 am, a lorry laden with coal emerged from an intersection on the ‘Then Tirupathi’ Road and rammed into the bus moving along Alangombu Road. 

In the impact, the bus fell on its side crushing down the front portion of a few shops on the roadside. Panicked public ran helter-skelter. They then rescued the passengers trapped inside the bus.

Five passengers were identified as Eswari (56), Srinivasan (68), Vijayalakshmi (65), Yashika (21), and Vijayakumari (61), besides bus driver Thangavel, conductor Gopal Raj (46), and lorry driver Munisamy (30) were injured in the mishap. They all were taken to Mettupalayam Government Hospital and some passengers were later shifted to Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) for further treatment.

Preliminary inquiry revealed that the lorry driver failed to notice the bus resulting in the mishap. Sirumugai police have registered a case and further inquiries are on.