1 dead, 39 hurt as bus ploughs into field

THANJAVUR: A man was killed and 39 others injured when a private bus skidded off the road and ploughed into a paddy field near Pattukkottai on Thursday. The bus was on its way to Aranthangi from Pattukkottai when the mishap occurred.According to police, Panneerselvam (37), the driver of the bus, lost control of the vehicle while trying to negotiate a turn near Perumal Koil Street on the outskirts of Pattukkottai. The bus then skidded and ploughed into a paddy field and flipped over thrice before.In the impact, Sarputeen (40), son of Mohamed Buhari of Madhukoor, was killed on the spot, while 39 passengers, including two children and 11 women, suffered serious injuries. While 16 of the injured were rushed to the Thanjavur Medical College Hospital, the rest were admitted to the Pattukkottai GH. The condition of the bus driver was said to be serious.Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Finance, S S Palanimanickam, who was on his way to Pattukkottai when the accident occurred, rushed to the GH and met the injured persons. Pattukkottai Town Police have registered a case.Three Killed as Car Hits MotorcycleThree persons were killed when a car hit the motorcycle on which two persons were riding. The third person was their friend who had stopped the motorcycle and was talking to them.Mockasamy (43) of T Kamakkapatti in Devadanapatti area, near Periyakulam in Theni district, was riding his motorcycle from Ghat Road to his village. Pandi (48) of the same village was riding on the pillion. Muthuraj (43) of the same village, who was seated on the parapet wall of a bridge, had stopped the vehicle and was speaking to them, when a car from Kodaikanal hit the motorcycle. Mockasamy and Pandi, who sustained grievous injuries, died on the spot. Muthuraj, who was admitted to the government hospital at Batlagundu succumbed there.  R Prabhakaran (32)  of Karur, who was driving the car, had been admitted to the Periyakulam GH with injuries