Thrissur: In a devastating turn of events, families of the eight engineering students killed in a horrific midnight crash on National Highway 66 were completely unaware their children had travelled to Keralam until police phoned them with news of the tragedy.

Kaipamangalam police retrieved student identity cards from the wreckage to identify the victims, undergraduates from PSNA Engineering College in Dindigul of Tamil Nadu, and contact their homes. Shocked parents told officers they had no knowledge of the road trip, believing their children were at their college residence. Post-mortem examinations will begin at Thrissur Medical College once the families reach the state.
 


Joyous journey turns tragic

Visuals recorded by the Tamil Nadu natives as they set off on their trip have emerged as a poignant reminder of the tragedy, shortly before they were killed when their car slammed into the rear of a parked lorry in Kaipamangalam.
 

Normally, when travelling from Dindigul towards the Ernakulam region, the route goes via Palakkad and through the Paliyekkara toll plaza. However, the students were travelling from the Guruvayur direction. It remains unclear why they chose this particular route. Neither their friends, college authorities, relatives nor the police currently have any concrete information regarding this. It is also not yet clear whether they had arrived in Kerala for a vacation trip.

Official negligence, poor signage and illegal lorry parking

Official negligence on National Highway 66 has claimed human lives once again. Vehicles traveling on the highway can only proceed up to the point where the Triprayar Bypass begins at Panambikkunnu Centre. From there, traffic must divert onto the service road. However, there are no warning boards or proper notifications posted regarding this.
Authorities merely erected a small concrete wall as a barrier. An accident occurred at this exact spot two weeks ago after a vehicle struck it. In that incident, two occupants of a car were injured because there were no signboards. Local residents stated that just moments before Friday midnight's tragedy, another car narrowly escaped an accident.
 

The lorry was parked directly behind this concrete wall. It is believed that the driver of the car failed to notice the lorry, which was parked facing the same direction as vehicles traveling from Guruvayur to Kodungallur. Three lorries were illegally parked at the site at the time of the crash. Following the collision, the drivers of two of those lorries fled the scene with their vehicles.

The car rammed into the back of the lorry and was completely crushed. The vehicle wedged beneath the truck was pulled out using ropes to extricate the passengers. Out of the eight victims, only one person had a faint pulse, but he succumbed before reaching the hospital.

It is almost confirmed that the victims were students of PSNA Engineering College in Dindigul. Apart from ID cards, several bags were recovered from the car.
 

Police have traced the vehicle's owner, who stated that he lent the car to an acquainted student upon request, though they had not disclosed their destination. It is suspected they were on a road trip. A search on the Parivahan portal revealed that the Tamil Nadu-registered vehicle was purchased and registered just a month ago.

Culpable homicide case registered against driver

Kaipamangalam police have registered a case against the driver of the illegally parked lorry under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The driver went into hiding soon after the collision, and a police search operation is underway.

Minister alleges direct NHAI failure

The crash has sparked severe criticism from Keralam Sports Minister and local MLA O J Janeesh, who lashed out at the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Janeesh alleged that the agency routinely operates without coordinating with public representatives or addressing critical black spots.
“Public representatives, district collectors and police officials have held multiple meetings raising safety concerns over diversions, missing signboards, and lack of speed-control measures,” Janeesh said.

“The authority frequently acts in a manner that shows no regard for human life. A vehicle travelling at high speed suddenly encounters an unlit diversion with zero warning.”

The NHAI has yet to issue an official response regarding the allegations.

(With PTI inputs)