Alappuzha: In an accident on the Kakkazham railway overbridge near Ambalapuzha, two 18-year-old students sustained severe injuries after being thrown over the bridge railing and falling nearly 30 feet below. Rahul, who was riding the motorcycle, was also injured. The motorcycle they were travelling on collided head-on with an oncoming car at around 6.15 am on Tuesday.

The injured have been identified as R Rahul, 35, of Vijaya Bhavanam, Kakkazham Kambivalappu, his niece Devanshi, 18, and her friend Diya, 18, a resident of Ratna Sadanam, Nirkunnam. Rahul was taking the two girls to Ambalapuzha railway station when the accident occurred. Devanshi is a BBA student at an institute in Kochi, while Diya is studying a German language course.

According to eyewitnesses, the impact of the crash flung Rahul onto the bridge footpath, while Devanshi and Diya were hurled over the side railing. They fell into a gap between heavy concrete blocks stacked beneath the bridge for ongoing National Highway expansion work. Both teenagers lost consciousness upon impact, sustaining severe fractures to their limbs, as well as head and spinal injuries.

Rahul also suffered multiple fractures to his arms and legs and underwent emergency surgery. The occupants of the car, which was travelling towards a private hospital in Kochi, escaped unharmed despite significant damage to the vehicle's front end.

Local residents who rushed to the scene managed to pull the unconscious girls out from between the concrete blocks and hurried them to the nearby Medical College Hospital. Following initial stabilisation, Rahul and Devanshi were transferred to a private hospital in Alappuzha, while Diya was moved to a specialist medical facility in Parumala.

The crash completely destroyed the motorcycle and caused a major traffic bottleneck on the National Highway for nearly half an hour. Normal traffic movement was restored after police and locals cleared the damaged car from the overbridge.