Kasaragod: A borewell rig-mounted truck knocked over an electric post and crashed into a house, killing two migrant workers and destroying part of the building in Kasaragod's hill panchayat of West Eleri in the early hours of Saturday. The family living in the house escaped unhurt.

Chittarikkal Police identified the deceased as Devendra, a native of Madhya Pradesh, and Manasar (19) from Chhattisgarh. The accident occurred around 1 am, said residents.

The truck, registered at Tiruchengode in Tamil Nadu's Namakkal district, was coming down a steep stretch before it veered off and crashed into the house, below the elevated road at Varakkad in Narkilakkad ward of West Eleri.

The truck first hit an electric post near a transformer before crashing into the RCC building, badly damaging one room of the house, while other portions also suffered damage, said K Janardhanan, the panchayat's Development Standing Committee chairperson and ward member.

Shanthamma, a tailor, was staying in the rented house with her younger sister and her sister's husband. None of them suffered injuries. The house belongs to a person named Jose from Poothottukadavu, said Janardhanan.

The truck and the borewell rig on it were destroyed in the impact.

Residents have been petitioning authorities for years to relocate the transformer and widen the road at the junction, with one resident even approaching the court after repeated complaints went unaddressed.

Several institutions are located at the tri-junction where roads from Nileshwar, Chittarikkal and Parappa meet. "There is a church, a higher secondary school, a college and the village office. This is a busy junction, and the transformer is located right there, and Shanthamma’s house is situated directly below the transformer," said Kunhinarayanan P C, a social worker from Varakkad and the petitioner in the court.

The road narrows near the transformer, with a steep descent and a slight curve, said panchayat member and CPM leader Janardhanan.

"Several accidents have happened here, but this is the first time two lives were lost. It was waiting to happen," said Kunhinarayanan.

He said residents have been writing to the District Collector, Tahsildar, panchayat and KSEB since 2020 to relocate the transformer. "Three months ago, I also wrote to the collector again. After the accident, I called the collector," he said.

He said he had approached the Hosdurg court in Kanhangad seeking action to address the issue. "The first hearing was on September 1," he said.

“There is a long-pending demand to relocate the transformer, but no one in the area was willing to give up their land to relocate it,” said Janardhanan, a CPM leader.

He said the area had seen a few accidents, but the position of the transformer may not have contributed to Saturday's accident. “CCTV footage from a nearby bank showed the truck approaching the descent at considerable speed. I think the accident happened due to lack of concentration,” he said.

Kunhinarayanan, however, said that instead of blaming drivers, the road’s gradient and layout needed to be fixed to prevent such accidents. “The gradient should be corrected, the transformer relocated, and the road widened to make the stretch safer, especially for drivers unfamiliar with the road,” he said.