Eight Killed After TNSTC Bus Collides Head-On With Tempo, Two-Wheeler In Salem

Salem: Eight people, including a pregnant woman, were killed and several others injured after a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) bus, lost control and rammed into a tempo and a two-wheeler, heading from the opposite direction, in Uthamasolapuram area of Salem district on Friday.

The accident occurred when the bus was travelling from Coimbatore Central bus stand to Salem. While passing through the Uthamacholapuram area on the Bengaluru-Coimbatore National Highway, the bus driver lost control and veered off the lane, crashing through the road divider and landing on the opposite lane, where it collided head-on with a tempo and a two-wheeler.

Six persons travelling in the tempo and two on two-wheeler died on the spot. Police said deceased, Selvaraj, Murugan, Amutha, Nithishka, Jeevika and Sathya, were on tempo, while Irusayi and Manikandan were on a two-wheeler.

Upon information, Kondalampatti police rushed to the scene and intensified the rescue operations. Passengers injured in the bus were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. However, official information regarding the exact number of injured passengers has not yet been released.

The bodies were sent to the Salem Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital for post-mortem.

Police have launched an investigation and probe is on to ascertain whether the bus driver lost control due to over speeding or mechanical fault.

A CCTV footage, showing a TNSTC bus ramming into a tempo and a two-wheeler that were heading from the opposite direction, has surfaced on social media platforms.

Reacting to the incident, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami expressed his grief and offered condolences to the bereaved families. "In the Salem–Uthamacholapuram area, a Tamil Nadu government bus traveling from Coimbatore towards Salem suddenly lost control. Reports indicate that the bus breached the roadside barrier and collided at high speed with vehicles traveling in the opposite direction, resulting in the deaths of seven people. I was deeply grieved upon learning of this distressing news," he posted on X.

"At a time when accidents involving government buses have become a recurring saga in Tamil Nadu, this incident once again proves that government buses are not being properly maintained under the current administration. On behalf of the AIADMK, I convey my deepest condolences and sympathies to the families of the deceased; furthermore, I pray to God that those currently undergoing treatment in the hospital recover fully and return home soon," he added.

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