Thiruvananthapuram: In a heart-rending incident in Chathannur, in the southern state of Kerala, a non-resident Indian (NRI) who had returned home from the UAE only a few hours earlier was killed in a road accident along with his wife and older son. The couple’s younger son survived with minor injuries.
Forty-year-old K. Shibu, who had returned to Kerala from Dubai on Friday, was on his way to his sister's house on a two-wheeler. He was accompanied by his wife Siji, 36, and sons, 11-year-old Adityan and six-year-old Adish.
The incident occurred at the Thirumukku junction, near Chathannur, when a state-owned bus was overtaking another vehicle. A car and Shibu’s scooter had to stop abruptly upon seeing the bus in their lane, and all four two-wheeler riders were thrown off the vehicle.
According to police, the bus ran over Shibu, Siji and Adityan, while Adish, who fell to the other side, escaped with minor bruises.
The crash took place at around 2.30pm. The couple had collected Adityan from his school on their way to Shibu’s sister’s house.
The driver of the bus fled the scene and police are on the lookout for him.
Following the accident, traffic was affected on the national highway for a long time.
In another gruesome accident on Sunday morning, two workers who were asleep died after being run over by a bus. The incident was reported from Mannarkad, in Palakkad district, and the two men were identified as workers from outside Kerala.
It is suspected that the deceased workers were sleeping in a parking lot for buses, and that the bus driver may not have noticed them when he drove the bus away, at around 4am on Sunday.
Police are trying to trace the vehicle that caused the deaths by examining video footage from a camera in a nearby fuel station. Reports said the two workers were from Chandigarh.
On Friday, another freak accident resulted in loss of life, albeit of a person travelling by boat. Tharayil Madhu, 32, was killed not long after taking a selfie while taking a ride in a small boat near Karuvatta along with two of his friends. According to reports, the boat overturned when Madhu got up to take pictures. All three occupants fell into the water but Madhu’s two friends managed to cling on to the boat.
Minutes before the incident, Madhu had posted pictures of himself and his friends on the boat ride on social media.
