Two schoolchildren killed as auto plunges into stream in Pathanamthitta

PATHANAMTHITTA

Two children were killed when an autorickshaw carrying school students fell into a stream near Thoombakkulam in Pathanamthitta on Wednesday.

The dead were identified as seven-year-old Adilakshmi and four-year-old Yadhu Krishna. Adilakshmi was a Class 3 student. According to the police, the autorickshaw, which was transporting six children back from Sree Narayana School at Karimanthodu, plunged into a 50-ft-deep stream on Wednesday evening after the driver abruptly swerved to avoid a snake on the road.

While Adilakshmi was declared dead soon after the accident, the body of Yadhu Krishnan was recovered later following several hours of search operations by Fire and Rescue Services personnel.

The injured children and the autorickshaw driver were admitted to a private hospital and the Pathanamthitta General Hospital.