Ramanathapuram (Tamil Nadu): In a tragic incident, five members of a family were killed and three others seriously injured when their car rammed into a stationary Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) bus at Pirappanvalasai village near Uchipuli on the Madurai-Rameswaram highway here early on Sunday.
Police said the occupants of the ill-fated car, identified as Senthil Manoharan (70), his wife Angala Easwari (60), their son-in-law Rajesh (33) and his wife Pandi Selvi (28), their daughters Darshila Rani (8), Pranavika (4), and a newborn baby boy, were returning to Thangachimadam village in Rameswaram in a hired car after treating the baby for an illness in a private hospital at Ramanathapuram.
When the car was passing through Pirappanvalasai at high speed, it rammed into the stationary bus of the TNSTC bus from behind.
While Senthil Manoharan, Angala Easwari (58), Rajesh (33), Darshila Rani, and Pranavika were killed on the spot, the seriously injured Pandi Selvi, the baby boy, and driver Britto (34) were rescued from the mangled car and admitted to Ramanathapuram Government Medical College Hospital.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the driver of the TNSTC bus that was going to Rameswaram from Tirupathur halted the vehicle on the roadside at Pirappanvalasai after one of the passengers complained of vomiting.
Uchipuli police have registered a case and are investigating.