Two women killed, 18 injured as speeding private bus collides with four vehicles near Kunnamkulam in Kerala’s Thrissur

The driver of a speeding private bus lost control of the vehicle and rammed into four vehicles near Parembadam, Kunnamkulam, in Thrissur on Thursday afternoon, killing two women and injuring 18 others. Two remain in a critical condition.

The deceased were Riya Fathima, 17, of Porkulam, who was travelling in a car, and Thankamani, 72, of Kunnamparambu, who was riding pillion on a motorcycle.

The accident occurred around 2.30 p.m. near a petrol pump at Parembadam. According to the police, the private bus first collided with an oncoming car, lost control and then crashed into three more vehicles, including a motorcycle, before ploughing through the compound wall of a house and coming to a halt.

Riya Fathima died on the spot. The motorcycle carrying Thankamani and her son-in-law, Jobin George, 42, of Kanipayyur, was badly hit. Jobin, a jewellery showroom manager, sustained critical injuries and is undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Thrissur.

Naseema, a passenger from Chalissery, also suffered serious injuries and was admitted to another private hospital in Karukutty.

Local residents alleged that the bus was travelling at excessive speed. They said reckless competition among private buses operating on the route and pressure to maintain schedules have long been cited as reasons for dangerous driving.

Residents and passers-by rushed to the scene immediately after the crash and shifted the injured to nearby hospitals before emergency services arrived.

A major tragedy was averted as no one was standing in front of the house whose compound wall was demolished by the bus.

The police and local residents jointly coordinated the rescue operations. Local people demanded stringent action against those responsible for the accident and called for tougher enforcement to curb speeding and reckless driving by private buses on the route.