Drivers charred to death in lorry-bus collision in TN

The bus was coming from Pathanmthitta in Kerala and the fish-waste laden lorry was going to Palakkad from here, when the mishap occured around 2 AM on a bypass near Karpagam College, police said

The bus driver, who was trapped in the cabin in the impact was from Thrissur in Kerala, while the identify of the lorry driver was yet to be established, they said.

Twenty one of the 48 bus passengers who escaped through emergency exit and also breaking window panes, sustained minor injuries and were treated as outpatients in the Government Hospital and a nearby private hospital.

Alerted by staff of nearby toll plaza, six fire engines rushed to the spot doused the flames after 90 minutes.

Some students, who were going to Bangalore for further studies, lost their certificates, while some others lost their cellphone, laptops and cash, police said.