Wayanad: Traffic on the Wayanad Ghat road came to a standstill by 6 pm on Monday after a chain of accidents involving more than six vehicles. According to initial reports, the pile-up began when a mini truck overturned at the 8th curve of the ghat road around 4 pm, triggering the subsequent collisions.

Several people were injured in the accident, according to eyewitness accounts shared in the WhatsApp group of 'Churam Samrakshana Samithy', a volunteer group engaged in life-saving activities in the ghat section. All of them were shifted to the Vythiri Taluk Hospital and other private hospitals. 

The incident happened after the loaded truck, which was coming down from the Wayanad direction (Lakkidi), lost its control and hit vehicles that were coming up from the opposite direction. 

Churam Samrakshana Samithy president Moidu Muttayi told Onmanorama that volunteers reached the spot immediately after the accident, but communication was soon lost. He added that while several people were injured, none of the injuries were reported to be serious.

According to Vythiri Police Station Inspector C R Anilkumar, the exact scale of the accident is yet to be determined. "A police team from Thamarassery and the patrol unit stationed at the Wayanad ghat entrance in Lakkidy were already moved to the spot," he said. He added that mobile connectivity in the ghat stretch remains poor due to weak signals.

"Traffic was initially regulated on a single line soon after the accident, but that too later came to a halt. Even if vehicular movement resumes, it would be at a snail's pace, that too on a single line at the accident spot," he pointed out.

Traffic will be restored once cranes remove the damaged vehicles from the ghat road to safe locations. The accident involved two mini trucks, three cars, an autorickshaw, and a motorcycle. Several passengers, including some heading to the airport, have been stuck in the traffic jam for over two hours.