Eight Tamil Nadu engineering students killed in Kerala highway crash

Eight engineering students from Tamil Nadu were killed after the car they were travelling in crashed into a stationary goods lorry on National Highway 66 in Kerala’s Thrissur district around midnight on Friday.

The accident took place at Panambikkunnu Centre in Kaipamangalam, where road widening work is under way. The Tamil Nadu-registered car, carrying all eight students, reportedly hit the rear of the lorry parked near a temporary diversion created for the highway construction.

The victims were students of PSM Engineering College in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu.

Rescue teams cut open mangled car

Local residents and emergency workers rushed to the scene after the crash. Rescue teams had to cut open the wreckage to reach those trapped inside.

Seven students were reportedly killed at the scene. The eighth was taken to hospital with serious injuries but later died.

Police and emergency personnel recovered the bodies and shifted them for further procedures. An investigation into the crash is under way.

Five of those killed have been identified as Vishwa, 20, from Salem; Surya, 20, and Yuvasanjith, 20, from Dindigul; and Santhosh, 20, and Prasanna, both from Madurai.

Authorities were working to identify the remaining three victims and contact their families.

Police probe circumstances of crash

The car, bearing registration number TN 59 DW 8299, was travelling along NH-66 when it crashed into the parked lorry.

Personnel from Kaipamangalam police station reached the spot soon after the accident and began investigating.

The crash comes as extensive widening work continues on several stretches of NH-66 in Kerala, with diversions and traffic restrictions in place at various locations.

Further details are awaited as the investigation continues.