Less than 24 hours after they left in the company of their friends in a brightly illuminated tourist bus with the excitement of a memorable trip in store for them, the lifeless bodies of five students and one of their teachers returned to the campus of Baselios Vidyanikethan Senior Secondary School in Vettickal, near Mulanthuruthy, in ambulances at 3 p.m. on Thursday.
Hundreds of people who gathered on the campus to bid their final adieu were in tears as bodies of Elna Jose, 15, of Thiruvaniyur; Diya Rajesh, 15, of Mulanthuruthy; Chris Vinter Born Thomas, 15, of Mulanthuruthy; Anjana Ajith, 17, of Udayamperoor; and Immanuel C.S., 17, of Arakkunnam; and their teacher Vishnu V.K., 33, of Mulanthuruthy; were lined up side by side along the courtyard of the school. A hartal was observed in Mulanthuruthy panchayat on Thursday afternoon in honour of the victims.
Sobs erupted as the bodies were taken out of the ambulances and even those issuing directions to the visitors over the public announcement often choked with emotions. A prayer was offered for the departed souls before the bodies were taken to their homes after more than an hour.
