Four students, including three schoolgirls from the same family and a college student, were killed after a private college bus hit their two-wheeler near Elachipalayam in Namakkal district on Thursday.
The deceased were identified as Nivetha, 17, a Class 11 student; Thanusri, 13, a Class 7 student; Abinaya, 12, a Class 6 student; and their cousin Subitha alias Kalaiselvi, 19, a college student. The three schoolgirls were daughters of daily-wage labourer Sekar and Amutha of Boyer Street in Sakkarampalayam panchayat near Elachipalayam.
Kalaiselvi, daughter of their paternal uncle Rameshbabu, was studying at Tiruvalluvar Government Arts College in Rasipuram and used to take the three girls to and from school on a two-wheeler.
On Thursday, Kalaiselvi went to the Elachipalayam Government Higher Secondary School around 4.30 p.m. to pick up the three girls. While the four were returning home along the Rasipuram-Tiruchengode road, they attempted to cross a junction near a private petrol station at Sakkarampalayam.
At that time, a private college bus travelling from Rasipuram towards Sankagiri allegedly at high speed collided with their two-wheeler. Kalaiselvi and Abinaya died on the spot, while Nivetha and Thanusri sustained critical injuries.
Local residents rushed the injured girls to Tiruchengode Government Hospital in an ambulance. However, both succumbed to their injuries while being taken to the hospital.
The accident caused traffic disruption in the area. More than 30 female students travelling in the private college bus were sent home in other buses.
With four members of the same family losing their lives, Sakkarampalayam village was plunged into grief. Elachipalayam police have registered a case and launched a search for the college bus driver, who allegedly fled the scene after the accident.
