A couple from Pollachi in Coimbatore district was killed in a road accident near here in the small hours of Tuesday.
Police said a group of 22 people from Malaiyandipattinam near Pollachi in Coimbatore district were going to Subramaniya Swami Temple, Tiruchendur in a van. When the van was about to cross Muthulapuram on Madurai – Thoothukudi four-lane national highway, the passenger vehicle hit from behind a stationary container lorry, in which the van’s front portion was completely mangled.
As the pilgrims could not come out of the vehicle wreckage, the Masarpatti police, led by Inspector Pavul Yesudasan, and fire and rescue services team from Kovilpatti rushed to the spot and rescued the victims, who were sent to the Government Hospital at Ettaiyapuram for treatment.
While Vijayan, 53, died on the spot, his wife Kalaivani, 46, died in the Ettaiyapuram Government hospital. After first-aid, fifteen more injured were taken to Kovilpatti Government Hospital and Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital for treatment.
The accident affected traffic on this busy road for a while.