15 injured in van accident in Erode district

ERODE: As many as 15 farmhands were injured after the van in which they were travelling in fell on its side near Sathyamangalam in Erode district on Saturday morning.

A total of 20 farmhands were heading from Vadavalli to Sikkarasampalayam to work in a banana plantation there.

When the van neared the Kovilmedu area, the driver, Murugan, 28, applied the brakes near a blind turn. “He suddenly lost control of vehicle and it fell on its side,” a police officer from the Sathyamangalam station said.

The injured include Nataraj, 30, Kathirvel, 36, Thangavel, 30, Rangasamy, 33, Duraisamy, 38, Suresh, 39, Ammasai, 46, Suresh, 38, Thilaga, 36, Chitra, 31, Sakthivel, 37, Thangamani, 36, and Vaitheeswari. They were taken to the Sathyamangalam GH and admitted at the accident ward. Others were treated as outpatients.

The officer said the driver was speeding before he applied the brakes.

A case was registered and further inquiry is on.