Five killed as train hits car in Alappuzha

KOCHI: Five people were killed when their car was hit by the Hapa-Tirunelveli Express at an unmanned level crossing at nearby Aroor today, railway sources said.

Three persons were killed on the spot, while two others, including a three year-old child, were rushed to hospital, where they were declared brought dead, the sources said.

Sumesh (26), of Aroor Kalathil and the owner of the Tata Indica car KL 32 C 276, Vincent of Aroor’s three-year-old son Nelphin, Karthikeyan (70) of Thrikunnappuzha, Narayanan (65) of Perumbalam and Chellappan (50) of Poochakkal were among the dead.

The accident occurred around 3:00 pm when they were coming back after attending a family function.

MLA A.M. Arif said that people had earlier demanded that the level crossing be better monitored, but the demands had fallen on deaf ears. Union Minister K C Venugopal visited the place.

In 2010, four holidayers, including a foreign couple, were killed when their car was hit by a train at an unmanned level crossing at nearby Mararikkulam.