The bus was carrying marriage party to Kodagu

Madikeri: Seven persons, including two children, were killed and many sustained grievous injuries, when a bus transporting a wedding party to Kodagu, veered off a steep road and fell on top of a house at Pariyaram, a village bordering Panathur in Kasaragod district of Kerala yesterday.

The deceased have been identified as Adarsh (12), Shreyas (13), Jayalakshmi (39), Ravichandran (40), Rajesh (45), Sumathi (50), Lakshmi (39) and Shashi (35). 

Among the many injured, ten of them are said to be in critical condition, while 40 persons have sustained serious injuries. The injured have been admitted to Kanhangad Government Hospital and at private hospitals in Mangaluru, it is learnt.

Details: The marriage of Prashanth Kumar, a waterman at Karike Gram Panchayat in Kodagu district, was being held at Chethukaya village near Karike village yesterday. In the morning, there was a wedding ritual in the bride’s house in Eshwara Mangala and the ritual of tying the thali was scheduled in Prashanth’s house at Karike in the afternoon.

After the rituals at the bride’s house, the private bus with about 60 guests left for Kumar’s house in Karike. The bride and others left in a Tempo Traveller, which was being followed by the bus, it is learnt.

To reach Karike Gram Panchayat inside the Pushpagiri Reserve Forest, they have to travel 10 kms in Kasaragod’s Panathady Panchayat. 

When the bus was proceeding on Kalapalli-Panathur Road at Pariyaram, the driver reportedly lost control of the bus while descending a slope, hit a roadside tree and veered off the road before falling on top of a house. Luckily, no one was present inside the house at the time of the mishap.

Kanhangad Police have registered a case.