Nine killed as government bus rams cars in Cuddalore
CHENNAI: Nine people, including four women, were killed and at least 10 were injured in a road accident at Ezhuthur near Thittakudi in Cuddalore district on Wednesday.The incident occurred around 7.30 pm when an SETC bus heading to Chennai from Madurai lost control after one of its tyres burst. The bus jumped the low road median, crossing over to the other side of the road and ramming two cars coming in the opposite direction. The cars were heading from Chennai to Trichy.In the incident, nine people who were travelling in two cars were killed. At least 10 others who were in those cars as well as the bus suffered injuries. Police rushed to the spot to retrieve the bodies and sent them for postmortem. The injured were admitted to nearby hospitals. Due to the incident, traffic on the Chennai-Trichy national highway was blocked for close to an hour.Chief minister M K Stalin announced Rs 3 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh each for the injured. Police said they were in the process of identifying the deceased.Expressing his condolences, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami urged the state govt to provide immediate compensation to the families of the deceased.
