Omni bus topples and catches fire on NH in Salem; one killed

An omni bus carrying 30 passengers collided with a moped, killing an elderly man who was riding it, on the National Highway in Salem on Saturday (November 9, 2024). The bus then toppled and caught fire, but all 30 passengers escaped unhurt.

An omni bus carrying 30 passengers collided with a moped, killing an elderly man who was riding it, on the National Highway in Salem on Saturday (November 9, 2024). The bus then toppled and caught fire, but all 30 passengers escaped unhurt.

The omni bus was headed to Coimbatore from Chennai late on Friday (November 8, 2024) night. When the bus reached Kaliyanur near Sankari on the Salem-Coimbatore National Highway at 6.30 a.m. on Saturday, an elderly man crossed the road in a moped. To avoid hitting the bike, the omni bus driver applied a sudden brake. But the bus collided with the moped and in the impact, toppled on the roadside.

The man on the moped, identified as P. Periyasamy, 60, a resident of Veerapandiyar Nagar near Chinnagoundanur in Sankari, sustained grievous injuries and died on the spot.

Soon after the bus toppled, the passengers managed to get out of it. But within a few minutes, due to a leakage in the fuel tank, the vehicle caught fire.

On being alerted, Sankari Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) S. Raja and other police personnel rushed to the spot and stopped traffic movement on the National Highway. The Sankari Fire and Rescue Services personnel extinguished the fire in 30 minutes but by then, the bus was fully gutted.

The deceased Periyasamy was working as a security guard at a truck workshop in the locality. The Sankari police sent the body to Salem Government Hospital for a postmortem examination and registered a case.

Due to the accident, vehicle movement on the National Highway was halted for over 40 minutes until the fire was extinguished.