Death toll as van falls into well put at 10 offi cially

MADURAI : The death toll
in yesterday’s mishap when
that occurred when a van
carrying a marriage party
fell into a road side well in
Madurai district was offi -
cially put at ten, today.
Thirteen members of a
family were traveling to Tuticorin
district from Devaram
in Theni district plunged
into the 50-foot deep agricultural
well. Ten people,
including four children died,
while three occupants were
rescued by locals after they
fell into the water. They
were admitted to a private
hospital in the city.Their
condition was stated to be
stable.
Though initially it was
claimed that 15-18 people
were traveling in the van, it
was offi cially stated today
that only 13 people were
traveling in the van at the
time of the mishap. Divers
from Tamil Nadu Fire and
Rescue Services department
worked feverishly and recovered
ten bodies from the
well during the search operation
that lasted throughout
the night.
Superintendent of Police
Asra Garg said here this
morning that the wreckage
of the van was lifted from
the well at 2300 hours last
night with the help of a crane
and thereafter rescue teams
were pressed into service to
retrieve the bodies drowned
in the well. In all ten bodies
were recovered and sent to
the Government Rajaji Hospital
for post-mortem.
He said preliminary investigations
revealed that the
driver of the van had lost
his control when the vehicle
was passing over a speedbreaker.
Madurai District Collector
U.Sagayam rushed to
the scene and supervised the
rescue operation.
The deceased Chithiraivel
and his family members
were returning to their
house at Teachers Colony
in Tuticorin district after
dropping his newly wedded
daughter Uma at her husband
Saktheeswaran’s place
at Devaram. The deceased
included Chithiraivel, his
wife Murugammal, brother
Balakrishnan, sister Aruna
and other family members
died.