Palakkad: Four students died in a tragic accident that took place in Panayampadam, near Kalladikode in Palakkad on Thursday when a cement-laden lorry rammed into a group of five who were returning home. After losing control, the lorry overturned on the students and broke the wall of a house nearby.
The deceased are Irfana, Mitha, Rida, and Ayesha, studying in Class 8 of Karimba Higher Secondary School. The bodies of four children have been taken to medical college for postmortem. One girl miraculously escaped by quickly running to the next house.
The accident took place on the Kozhikode-Palakkad National Highway, disrupting vehicular movement for hours. Later the lorry was lifted with a crane. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed condolences over the incident. Officials including the district collector, Palakkad MLA Rahul Mankuttam, local MLA Shanthakumari and other public representatives rushed to the spot.
Locals said the stretch of the road where the mishap took place became an accident-prone zone due to unscientific construction of the highway and accidents are frequent during monsoon. Following the accident, locals protested on the national highway. They say seven people have died and 65 have been injured in the past.
In the calling attention resolution presented by the MLA in the assembly in July, the unscientific construction of the road was pointed out. In reply, the minister said the state had warned about the safety measures it can take and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is responsible for fixing the issue. NHAI has been informed about this. But the concerned parties haven't taken any action so far.
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