One more person who suffered injuries in the fatal accident involving a van carrying tourists from Kerala on the Valparai-Pollachi ghat section in the Coimbatore district on April 17 died early on Wednesday (April 22, 2026), bringing the death toll to 10.
The deceased has been identified as Noushad Ali, a 39-year-old driver of Government Lower Primary School, in Pang, located in the Malappuram district.
He was undergoing treatment in a critical care unit at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH), where he died in the early hours of Wednesday (April 22, 2026), said the police. Shahadeen (11), the son of the school’s noon meal worker Sajida, and Mohammed Fasith (21), driver of the van, are currently undergoing treatment at CMCH.
Another injured, Masneen (10), has been shifted to the Government District Hospital, Perinthalmanna. She had accompanied her mother Shakeena (37), a teacher at the Government Upper Primary School at Pang, who died in the accident.
Ajitha (54), headmistress of the GLP School; her colleagues Ramlath (52), Zuhara (43), Asha (41) and Abdul Majeed (43); Zuhara’s son Hisham (12); and Majeed’s wife Rukhiya (39) and Sajida (45) are the eight others who lost their lives in the accident on the evening of April 17.
The van had veered off the 13th hairpin bend and rolled down to the ninth hairpin bend, allegedly after Fasith manoeuvred the sharp bend at a relatively higher speed, according to preliminary findings of the police and the road transport authority. Eight persons died at the scene.
Published - April 22, 2026 10:21 am IST

























