Thrissur, 05 September (H.S): A late-night journey ended in tragedy for eight engineering students from Tamil Nadu when their car collided with a stationary lorry on National Highway 66 in Kerala’s Thrissur district on Friday night.

The fatal collision took place near Panambikkunnu Centre at Kaipamangalam, along a section of NH-66 currently undergoing construction and widening. The students were travelling in a Tamil Nadu-registered car when it struck the rear of a goods lorry parked close to a temporary traffic diversion.

The force of the collision crushed a major portion of the car, leaving the students trapped inside the wreckage. Residents in the area were among the first to reach the scene, following which police and rescue personnel launched an operation to remove the occupants from the badly damaged vehicle.

Seven students reportedly died before they could be taken to hospital, while the eighth succumbed despite being rushed for medical treatment. The bodies were subsequently shifted by the authorities for post-mortem examination and other formalities.

The victims were students of P S M Engineering College in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu.

Five of the deceased were identified as Vishwa, 20, from Salem; Surya, 20, and Yuvasanjith, 20, from Dindigul; and Santhosh, 20, and Prasanna from Madurai. Authorities were working to establish the identities of the other three victims and inform their families.

The car bore the Tamil Nadu registration number TN 59 DW 8299.

Kaipamangalam police reached the spot soon after being alerted and began an investigation. Police are examining the circumstances that caused the car to crash into the stationary lorry and whether conditions around the temporary highway diversion contributed to the accident.

The tragedy occurred amid extensive widening and construction work along NH-66 in Kerala, with temporary diversions and traffic restrictions in place on several stretches. Further details are awaited as the investigation continues.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman