7 engg students killed in Kerala bus mishap

Thiruvananthapuram (Agencies): Seven final year engineering students were among eight persons killed and 30 others injured when their bus fell into a gorge at Thekkinkanam in the district on Monday.A The driver was among those killed. The students, belonging to the final year batch of the Electronics and Instrumentation branch at the Sarabhai Institute of Science and Technology at Vellanad in Thiruvananthapuram, were on their way to Munnar from Kodaikanal on a picnic when the mishap occurred, police said. The injured have been hospitalised. The principal of the college said the college authorities were not involved in it, and were yet to ascertain the identities of the students who were killed in the accident. A One of the killed engineering students was a girl. The elderly man was part of the bus crew. The incident occurred about 170 km from the state capital. There were 41 students of the final year batch at the college on the trip. They included 13 girls.A Eyewitnesses said the bus was coming from Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu, and driving towards Munnar when it skidded off the road and rolled downhill. A The condition of two of the injured is said to be serious. State Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said the medical expenses for all those injured would be borne by the government.A "Right now, our aim is to see that the injured get the best treatment and authorities are ensuring that," Radhakrishnan said.