Fatal Crash on NH 66

Eight people were killed when the car they were travelling in crashed into a parked lorry on National Highway 66 at Panambikkunnu in Kaipamangalam, Thrissur district, Kerala, in the early hours of Saturday. Police said the accident occurred around 11:40 pm on Friday, with all eight occupants dying on the spot.

The victims, believed to be engineering students from Tamil Nadu's Dindigul region, were travelling in a vehicle with a Tamil Nadu registration (TN 59 DW 8299). The car was headed from the Guruvayur side towards Kodungallur when it collided with the rear of the parked goods lorry, according to police.

The impact of the collision left the car severely damaged, trapping those inside. Emergency response teams, including fire and rescue personnel and local residents, had to cut open the vehicle to extricate the bodies. The victims were subsequently taken to the mortuary at Thrissur Medical College.

Investigation and Identity of Victims

While the official confirmation of the victims' identities is pending, authorities suspect they were students from Tamil Nadu. An identity card belonging to a student of PSNA College of Engineering in Dindigul was recovered from the wreckage, according to NewsX. Other preliminary reports suggested the occupants may have been from P S M Engineering College in Dindigul, as reported by Malayala Manorama and Times Now.

Accident Site and Ongoing Probe

The accident occurred at Panambikkunnu Centre, where the lorry was reportedly parked at a diversion on an under-construction stretch of the national highway. NewsX reported that the lorry was parked illegally in the same lane where construction work was underway, raising questions about highway safety. Police have initiated an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash, including how the car came to collide with the stationary lorry.