Eight Engineering Students from Tamil Nadu Die in Kerala Highway Crash

Eight engineering students from Tamil Nadu died when their rented car collided with a lorry on National Highway 66 in Kerala, police said.

The crash occurred around 11:40 p.m. Friday near Panambikkunnu in Thrissur district as the students travelled from Guruvayur to Kodungallur. Police said the car was moving at high speed and struck the rear of the lorry.

The lorry had allegedly been parked illegally on the right side of the highway, where construction work had diverted traffic. Eyewitnesses said the driver appeared to miss the diversion barricade before the collision.

Six students died at the crash site, while two others later died from their injuries at a nearby hospital. All eight attended a prominent engineering college. The victims were identified as Surya, Yuvasanjith, Joshua, Murali and Jeeva from Dindigul, Santhosh and Prasanna from Madurai, and Vishva from Salem. Local authorities launched a rescue operation.