Four of a family, including a couple, were killed in a collision between a car and a van at Kadambattukonam, near Paripally, on the National Highway early on Thursday. While the car was returning from the Thiruvananthapuram airport, the van was on its way to the airport.
The victims were natives of Viyapuram, near Haripad. They were identified as Kurien Punnose, 50; his wife Lalitha, 45; Vinu K. Varghese, 40, who was on the wheel; and Philipose, 55, a member of the Viyapuram grama panchayat committee. The couple's son, Lebin, 15, has been admitted to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital in a critical condition.
The family was returning from the airport along with Lalitha's husband who arrived from the Gulf. The van was on its way to the airport from Ivarkala, near Sasthamcotta, to drop a person. While Kurien, Vinu and Philipose died on the spot, Lalitha was declared dead at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital.
The police said the occupants of the van fled the scene. The bodies of those killed were handed over to their relatives after post-mortem examination at the District Hospital here. The Paripally police have registered a case.
