StatesTamil Nadu
Landslide buries government bus near Parliyar in Nilgiris, driver killed after passengers step off
About 50 passengers had got down minutes earlier because of a tyre puncture. Driver Janagaraj died under the debris on the Coimbatore-Ooty road, while conductor Kesavan was pulled out injured.
Key points
- A landslide brought trees, rocks and soil down on a government bus near Parliyar on the Coimbatore-Ooty road.
- About 50 passengers had already got off after a tyre puncture, minutes before the slope gave way.
- Driver Janagaraj was killed; conductor Kesavan was rescued with injuries and taken to hospital.
A landslide buried a Tamil Nadu government bus near Parliyar in the Nilgiris on Saturday, killing its driver. The roughly 50 passengers on board had got off only minutes earlier, after the bus stopped with a punctured tyre.
The bus was on the hill road between Coimbatore and Ooty when the tyre went. While the passengers waited by the roadside, the slope above gave way, sending trees, rocks and soil crashing onto the road and trapping the bus.
Only the driver, Janagaraj, and the conductor, Kesavan, were inside. “Only the driver and I were in the bus. Trees began falling across the road one after another,” Kesavan said. “As we tried to stop the bus safely, we were caught in the landslide.”
Fire and Rescue Services personnel pulled Kesavan out with injuries and took him to hospital. Early word from the scene said the driver had also been rescued, but that turned out to be wrong. Janagaraj’s body was recovered after a long operation to dig through the debris.
The bus was still buried under mud and fallen trees on Saturday afternoon. Crews were working to clear boulders, trees and soil so that the Coimbatore-Ooty road could reopen to traffic.
According to the conductor, no passenger was inside when the slope collapsed.