A serious three-vehicle collision involving a school bus, a truck, and a car brought traffic to a halt on the busy MC Road in Kerala on Monday morning. The incident occurred around 7 am at Manthuka, near Pandalam, sending shockwaves through the area.
Sequence of the Collision
The accident unfolded when a school bus, travelling from Chengannur towards Pandalam, collided head-on with a truck coming from the opposite direction. Preliminary reports from the scene indicate that the truck driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel, leading to the catastrophic impact. A private car that was closely following the school bus could not avoid the chaos and subsequently crashed into the scene.
Rescue Operation and Injuries
The impact of the collision was severe, with the school bus driver becoming trapped in the mangled wreckage of his vehicle. Fire and rescue services rushed to the spot and worked for approximately half an hour to free him. They had to carefully dismantle parts of the bus to extricate the trapped driver.
Miraculously, despite the scale of the accident, there were no serious injuries reported. The school bus was empty, carrying no students at the time. Furthermore, passengers in the other vehicles involved also escaped unharmed, a fortunate turn of events given the violent nature of the crash.
Traffic Disruption and Aftermath
The aftermath of the multi-vehicle pileup caused significant disruption on the vital MC Road. Traffic flow was severely affected for about an hour as emergency services cleared the wreckage and authorities conducted initial investigations. The incident highlights the perennial dangers on busy state highways, especially during early morning hours when driver fatigue can be a critical factor.
Local police have registered a case and are investigating the exact circumstances that led the truck driver to allegedly lose control. The condition of the rescued bus driver is being monitored. This accident serves as a stark reminder for all motorists to prioritize rest and maintain safe following distances, particularly on high-speed corridors.
