Two people, including an 18-year-old girl, were killed, and four others sustained serious injuries after their car plunged into a 600-metre gorge at Kaduvappara, near Murinjapuzha, on the Kottarakkara-Dindigul National Highway on Thursday.
According to the Peruvanthanam police, the incident occurred around 3.30 p.m. The deceased have been identified as Sindhu, 45 and Bhadra, 18.
The injured are Shibu, 51; his wife Manju, 43; his daughter Bhagya, 12, all residents of Navayikkulam, and Adidev, 21, son of Sindhu, both hailing from Attingal. The deceased Bhadra is the elder daughter of Mr. Shibu and Sindhu was Ms. Manju’s sister.
The police said the vehicle was on its way from Kumily to Thiruvananthapuram. It crashed into the highway’s protection wall and fell into the deep gorge.
“It is suspected that Mr. Shibu, who was at the wheel, lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a hairpin bend resulting in the accident,” said a police official.
The police and local people rushed to the spot and shifted the injured to Mar Sleeva Medicity at Pala. The bodies were shifted to MMJ Hospital at Mundakkayam.
According to officials, narrow roads and hairpin bends are a major threat on the Kuttikkanam-Mundakayam stretch of the Highway.
