Eight students from Tamil Nadu were killed after the car they were travelling in rammed into the rear of a lorry parked by the roadside in Kerala’s Thrissur district, police said.
The crash occurred near Panambikkunnu in Kaipamangalam, where construction work is underway on the national highway. A Tamil Nadu-registered car (TN 59 DW 8299) struck the stationary lorry, leaving the vehicle badly mangled and trapping the occupants inside.
Police and rescue teams rushed to the spot after receiving information and recovered the bodies. The deceased were taken to Thrissur Medical College Hospital.
Police said all eight victims were students of PSM Engineering College in Dindigul. Six have been identified as Yuva Sanjith and Surya from Dindigul district, Prasanna from Madurai, and Vishwa, Santhosh and Joshua from Salem, while efforts are on to identify the remaining two.
Preliminary inquiry indicates the car was travelling from Guruvayur towards Kodungallur when it lost control and hit the lorry. Police said further investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the accident.
