TRAGIC ACCIDENT: TWO KILLED IN VAN-BIKE COLLISION NEAR THOOTHUKUDI

In a horrifying incident, two youngsters were killed in a van-bike collision near Srivaikundam on Monday. They both died on the spot in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur highway near Thoothukudi. The motorcycle rider reportedly lost control of the bike which collided with a minibus headed in the opposite direction.  

According to  The Hindu reports, S. Swaminathan, 18, a first-year undergraduate student of a private arts college in Tiruchendur, and his friend, V. Ashok Ganesh, 18, went on a bike trip to Tirunelveli. When they reached Puthukudi near Srivaikundam, their bike was involved in a head-on collision with a van. In the collision, the motorcyclist's fuel tank exploded leaving one person charred to death and the bike went up in flames. Ashok Ganesh succumbed to his burns, while Swaminathan also died on the spot.

Media reports further state that, on an immediate call firefighters and the Srivaikuntam Police rushed to the spot and doused the flames. Meanwhile, the corpse was later shifted to the government hospital in Thoothukudi for an autopsy.

Currently, the police have arrested van driver, P. Sudalai, 49, of Rajapathi near Gangaikondan in Tirunelveli district, and are conducting an inquiry into the matter. They have also seized the minibus.