Bus crashes into moped in Namakkal, killing three sisters and their cousin

In the early hours of Thursday, a private college bus collided with a moped near Elachipalayam, close to Tiruchengode in Namakkal district. The moped was carrying S Kalaichelvi, a 19-year-old second-year government college student, her sisters Nivedha, 15, and Dhanushree, 11, as well as their 11-year-old cousin R Abinaya. Kalaichelvi and Nivedha were pronounced dead at the crash site, while Dhanushree and Abinaya succumbed to injuries while being taken to a hospital.

All four victims were residents of Sakkarampalayam. Police have registered a case, and the 30-year-old bus driver, Praveen of Rasipuram, turned himself in at the Tiruchengode police station. The families include vegetable traders Sekar and Amudha, and Sekar’s brother Rameshbabu and his wife Vasantha.