A private bus hit a stationary omnibus at Pallapatti near Melur, killing two women and a man.
Over 15 passengers were injured and shifted to government hospitals in Melur and Madurai.
Police are probing possible driver fatigue or overspeeding as the cause.
Three persons, including two women, were killed and over 15 others sustained injuries after a private omnibus rammed into another stationary bus near Melur here in the early hours of Sunday, police said.
The accident occurred on the Trichy-Madurai National Highway at Pallapatti, within the Kottampatti police limits.
According to police sources, a private omnibus traveling from Chennai to Madurai had pulled over at a roadside tea stall in the Pallapatti suburban area. While the driver was away, another private omnibus—en route from Chennai to Marthandam—lost control and crashed into the rear of the parked vehicle with significant impact.
Three passengers—Kanagaranjitham (65), Sudarshan (23), and an unidentified female passenger—were instantly killed in the crash.
Over fifteen people on both buses were injured to varied degrees. Locals raced to the scene and helped in the rescue efforts. 108 ambulances and private cars were used to convey the injured to government hospitals in Madurai and Melur for medical care.
A police team headed by Melur Deputy Superintendent of Police Sivakumar and staff from the Kottampatti station rushed at the location to supervise rescue operations and clear the highway traffic after learning of the incident.
An investigation to ascertain if driver weariness or overspeeding caused the deadly incident has been filed.
