Malappuram: A sombre mood prevailed at Government Higher Secondary School, Pang, on Saturday morning. Just a day earlier, the nine victims of the fatal Valparai crash had left the town on a leisure trip, hoping to create happy memories. By next day morning, a large crowd had gathered to bid them a final farewell.

The school is located about one kilometre from Pang ALP School, which lost six members, including five teachers, a driver, and a member of the cooking staff, and Pang UP School, which lost one teacher. The mortal remains reached the campus by 9 am, drawing hundreds of residents who paid their respects. Public viewing concluded by 11.30 am, after which the bodies were handed over to the families for the final rites.

They were brought to Malappuram in nine ambulances under police escort, leaving Pollachi around 6 am. Postmortem procedures, which began after midnight at Pollachi Taluk Hospital after relatives arrived, were completed by 3.45 am. Religious rites were held at a nearby mosque following the autopsy.

General Education Minister V Sivankutty, who visited the school to pay respects, said the government and authorities had made every effort to bring the bodies home at the earliest. The minister said that the government would award compensation to the victims’ families at the earliest.

“Unfortunately, we have lost all the teachers in this (Pang ALP) school, except one. The Department of Education will take steps to fill the vacancies before the school reopens. Efforts will also be made to ensure that students receive counselling,” he added.

The accident
The accident occurred on Friday evening when a tempo traveller lost control at hairpin bend 13 on the Valparai route, broke through a protective wall, and plunged to a lower bend. Nine people, including seven women and a child, were killed. The group was returning from a leisure trip when the mishap occurred.

Among the deceased is Ajitha (54), headmistress of Pang ALP School and a native of Pulamanthole. Others who died in the accident include Ramla (52), Suhara (43), Asha (41), and Majeed (43), all teachers and natives of Pang; Sajitha (45), a member of the school’s cooking staff; Naushad (39), the school bus driver and Shakeena (37), a teacher at GUP School Pang, and Rukhiya (39), the wife of Majeed.

Those injured include Hisham (12), son of Suhara; Shahadin, child of Sajitha; Masneen (10), and Mohammed Fahis, the traveller driver. Three people, including a child, sustained serious injuries and are undergoing treatment at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital. Another injured child, 11-year-old Masneen, daughter of Shakeena, has been shifted from Pollachi Taluk Hospital to a hospital in Perinthalmanna.

The vehicle involved in the accident, bearing registration KL 11 AM 7288 and owned by a Malappuram native, was driven by 21-year-old Mohammed Fasith, a native of Chunoor near Kottakkal. Four people, including the driver, are currently under treatment.

The group had travelled to Valparai via Athirappilly, Vazhachal, and Malakkappara. Rescue operations were launched immediately after the accident by local residents, police, and fire and rescue personnel.