Closest of friends in life - and in death

THEY were closest of friends so much so that even death couldn't separate them. Irfana Sherin PA, Ridha Fathima, Nidha Fathima K M and Aysha A S, all students of Class VIII at Karimba Government HSS, were snatched away by fate's cruel hands when a truck transporting cement careened out of control, toppled, and fell over them.

- KRISHNA KUMAR K E & TOBY ANTONY @Kochi

THE section of the Kozhikode-Palakkad national highway in Panayampadam, near Mannarkkad, where four students were killed after a speeding cement-laden lorry veered off course and toppled over them on Thursday evening, is known to be accident-prone. In fact, an IIT study had recommended "urgent safety measures" on the stretch that authorities have only partially implemented.

A special team of the motor vehicles department (MVD), led by Palakkad RTO Mujib C U, inspected the site and the vehicles involved soon after the shocking accident.