Four of a family killed in bus-jeep smash

KOTHAMANGALAM: Four members of a family were crushed to death when the jeep in which they were travelling collided with a private bus at Sobhanappady near Kothamangalam at 7 am on Wednesday.The deceased are Chandran, 42, of Ammuppillil, Punnekkadu, Kothamangalam, his wife Bindu, 30, her father Suseelan, 60, of Thalakkode, and Vizhak, 3, son of Chandran-Bindu couple. The injured were rushed to Mar Baselios Hospital in Kothamangalam, where Chandran, Bindu and Suseelan were declared ‘brought dead.’ Critically injured Vizhak was referred to Kolenchery Medical Mission Hospital, where he died at 10.30 am.The bus operating in the Cheruvattoor-Kothamamangal-Onnukal sector was on its way to Oonnukal when the jeep coming from the opposite direction rammed into it at Sobhanappady near Kothamangalam, the police said. The jeep was driven by Chandran, a businessman running a pig farm. The police said Chandran might have dozed off, leading to the accident. The bodies were handed to the relatives after postmortem examination at the Taluk Hospital, Kothamangalam. The police said they recovered around ` 50,000 in cash from the jeep and handed it over to the relatives.