Malappuram: Five persons, including four of a family, were killed when the autorickshaw they were travelling collided head-on with a bus carrying Sabarimala pilgrims at Manjeri in Malappuram district Friday evening.
Police identified the deceased as auto driver Abdul Majeed (55), Thasneema (33), her two children Raiha Fathima (4) and Rinsha Fathima (12), and her elder sister Muhsina (35), a native of Pullur in Manjeri town.
Thasneema's one-month-old daughter Rishama, and Muhsina's three children Muhammed Noushad, Fathima Hassa and Muhammed Ahsan were injured in the accident, said police.
Thasneema was the wife of Muhammed Riyas of Velayur house at Karuvarakundu, around 35 km from Manjeri.
The four injured are undergoing treatment at Government Medical College Hospital and a private hospital in Manjeri.
The accident took place at Chettiyangadi, 2 km from Manjeri, on the Manjeri-Areekode road. According to police, there were eight passengers in the autorickshaw. The tourist bus was hired by Sabarimala pilgrims from Hosur, a village in Siddapur Taluk of Uttara Kannada district. Though the front side of the bus was dented, no passenger on the bus was injured.
The autorickshaw was mangled in the impact and residents and police rushed to the spot and extricated the passengers and the driver from it.
The five bodies were taken to the Government Medical College Hospital in Manjeri for autopsy.
