14, including teachers & students of Kollam tuition centre, injured in accident in Idukki

At least 14 people, including students and teachers from a tuition centre in Kollam, were injured when a traveller van met with an accident at the Kuruthikalam hairpin bend on the Thodupuzha–Puliyanmala State Highway on Sunday evening.

The vehicle went out of control while descending a steep stretch and crashed into a roadside tree around 7.30 pm, Kulamavu police said.

Sixteen-year-old A S Jyothika suffered a serious head injury and was shifted to a hospital in Thodupuzha in critical condition. The driver, S Shamnad (36), and teachers Amjad (42) and Noufal (32) also sustained major injuries. Shamnad, trapped between the vehicle and the tree, was rescued after the front portion of the van was cut open. 

The group had left Kunnikkode in Kollam around 3 am for a leisure trip and were returning after visiting tourist destinations in Idukki when the accident happened.

Students Sana Fathima, Subanas, Adila Liza, Muhammad Farooq, Nidhi Sajeev, S Sreerag, Fabia Fathima, L Krishnapriya, L Noufal, Fathima Ali, and S Shameer received minor injuries and were treated at a private hospital in Moolamattom.

Rescue operations were carried out jointly by the Kulamavu and Kanjirappally police, Moolamattom Fire and Rescue team, and local residents. The injured were transported to the hospital in ambulances and a police jeep. Traffic disruption in the area was brief.

Residents said a major tragedy was averted as the van narrowly avoided plunging into a deep gorge. The crash site falls near the Kulamavu–Kanjirappally police station boundary, and officers from both stations attended the scene. Initial police reports indicate that no injuries are life-threatening.