Kerala: Nine people killed in bus accident

Palakkad/Thiruvananthapuram/Kochi: Nine people, including five students, were killed after a private tourist bus hit a state-run KSRTC bus from behind at Vadakkenchery in Palakkad district, Kerala Road Transport Minister Antony Raju said on Thursday.

The minister said the accident occurred around 11.30 PM on Wednesday when the private bus, which was travelling at a high speed, while attempting to overtake a car, hit the rear end of a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus.

"Both the buses went off the road as a result. Nine people, including five students and a teacher, were killed in the accident," he told the media.

The driver of the KSRTC bus told reporters that he was driving at a speed of around 40 km per hour when the private bus suddenly hit them from behind and he barely managed to control the vehicle and prevent it from falling into a ditch.

"The private bus hit us from behind, ripped off a piece of our bus from one side and then went past us at high speed and toppled over," the KSRTC bus driver said. Visuals of the private bus showed a large piece of the state-transport vehicle inside the tourist bus.