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Death came in a flash, a flash of flames.
It had started off as a normal bus journey just after dark on Wednesday night. The bus, going from Salem to Erode in Tamil Nadu, was packed.
On the left of the road, a tipper was unloading. The bus veered to the right at full speed and hit an on-coming Ashok Leyland Comet truck laden with cement.
The impact of the collision ripped open the fuel tank of the truck, which exploded spraying commuters with burning diesel. The people near the doors jumped out. Most of the passengers in the front had no chance.
Sitting on the second seat, Sreenivasan had a miraculous escape. His presence of mind saved him. He noticed a gap in the fleeing crowd and climbed out through it. Even then he has been burnt all over. He is in the government hospital in Salem.
Rajamani, a powerloom worker, was also lucky. "I was standing in the back, so I could see the flames and run." One of her hands is completely blackened. So is the back of her neck. After the accident, Rajamani did not wait for any help. She simply walked the eight kilometers to her home in the dark, with her wounds untreated. The next morning, relatives brought her to the government hospital in Salem.
The accident occurred on National Highway 47 between Salem and Erode, in a village called Vaikuntam. The road is in very good condition. There are lush paddy fields all around and it's lined with trees on either side. The highway winds itself through the Western Ghats.
Two days later, the bus has been removed but not the truck, or what remains of it. Two sarees are entangled in the tyres. There are vessels, slippers, torn clothes strewn all around. Bits of the truck are spread over a 50 feet area.
Witnesses say the truck burned for two hours. A fire tender arrived from nearby Sankari but could not reach the spot. Since traffic had stopped hundreds of vehicles stranded on the road blocked the fire tender. By the time the traffic was cleared it was too late. Thirty one people perished. Till late Thursday, 18 bodies have been identified.
The cops were showing relatives belongings recovered from the accident site. There were clothes, slippers and water bottles. There was also bundle of new lungis. The bodies in the mortuary are barely identifiable. The exhaust fans have not been put on and the stink is unbearable.
Among the dead are a newly-wed couple and a mill owner and exporter.
The state government has ordered an inquiry and promised compensation to the families of the victims, if the Election Commission guidelines, in place for the May assembly elections, allow it.
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