But the 30-km journey from Pullmedu to Vandiperiyar hospital took six and half hours through the narrow road and most of those injured died by the time he arrived at the hospital, Aneesh said.
"Some cried for a few drops of water... They fell silent after a while during the bumpy ride. The road was narrow and there were lots of vehicles," he said. Aneesh said he rushed to the mishap spot on hearing a loud sound and saw the stampede. He along with two other lorry drivers put the dead and injured onto lorries for transporting them to the hospital.
"They were mostly dead pilgrims. A few were alive.... barely breathing. By the time the lorries reached the hospital, there were hardly a few survivors," the 35-year-old said. All their efforts to save lives would have borne fruit had there been more police, more lights along the narrow road, he said.
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