Namakkal: Five Ayyappa devotees died and three others were injured after the car in which they were travelling collided with a sand-laden lorry near Namakkal early on Sunday.
The police said the devotees were returning from the Sabarimala temple when the tragedy took place around 2.30 am near Kavettipatti.
"A speeding, sand-laden lorry, heading towards Hosur, collided with their vehicle, killing five of them on the spot," they said.
According to the police, S. Saravanan, 45, a scrap paper merchant, his son, S. Naveen Kumar, 13, a class 8 student, and relatives, G. Vigneshwararaja, 22, and Vijay Kumar, 19, both brothers, had gone on a pilgrimage along with K. Ravi, 40, an employee in the paper mart, and his two sons R. Vigneshwaran, 18, a second-year engineering student, and Karthick, 13, a class 9 student, on Friday afternoon.
The SUV they were travelling in was driven by Ramathilagam, 27. All of them hailed from Kosavampatty village.
Police investigations reveal that Ramathilagam had dozed off at the wheel at a blind curve near Kavettipatti, which led to the mishap.
"Naveen Kumar, driver Ramathilagam, Ravi and his two sons died on the spot, while three others suffered grievous injuries and are undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Namakkal," the police said.
A post-mortem was done on the bodies of the deceased persons at the government hospital in Namakkal. Driver Ramathilagam got married only 10 days ago.
The entire village of Kosavampatty has plunged into grief as all the deceased persons hail from the same neighbourhood.
The police arrested lorry driver Thangaraj, 34, who also suffered minor injuries and is undergoing treatment at a hospital.
Earlier, Namakkal SP S.R. Senthil Kumar visited the accident spot and held investigations, while collector Dakshinamurthy met the injured persons at the government hospital.
The police have registered a case.
