Woman killed as boulders fall on parked car in Idukki

A woman was killed, and five others, including an eight-month-old girl, were injured as boulders rolled down a hill and crushed a parked car at Valanjanganam, near Kuttikkanam, in Idukki on Sunday. The victim was identified as Soudamini, a 55-year-old Upputhara resident. The incident occurred on the Kottarakara-Dindigul National Highway around 6.30 p.m. Bibin Divakaran, a Civil Police Officer (CPO) of the Cumbummettu police station in Idukki, and his family were on their way home from the Panchalimedu hill station on Sunday when the accident occurred. Bibin; his wife Anushka (CPO at the Kattappana police station Vanitha Helpline); their children Aadhav, 5, and Lakshya, 8 months old; Anushka’s mother Sheela; and their maid Soudamini were in the vehicle. “Soudamini died on the spot while the others were admitted to a private hospital in Mundakkayam with injuries. The vehicle was destroyed,” said the police. Soudamini’s body was shifted to Medical Trust Hospital, Mundakkayam.