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.
The bus carrying 42 students and five teachers of the school had met with a fatal accident along Vadakkancherry-Palakkad National Highway around Wednesday midnight.
Not too far away from the school, the houses of the victims were equally grief-stricken. Chris Vinter was initially reluctant to go for the tour but was prompted by his family to have his share of fun. That his parents, Thomas and Mary, were blessed with a boy after a long wait of almost 15 years made the separation all the more unbearable.
Painful moments
Diya was the sole child of her parents, leaving the friends and relatives at sea about how to console them. “She was a very pleasant kid and almost like a member of our family,” said George, a neighbour. Diya had sent photographs over WhatsApp as late as 11 p.m. unaware of the tragedy waiting for her in about an hour.
Anjana was accompanied by her mother Asha, who was one of the five teachers to accompany the students. While the mother escaped with minor injuries, it is likely to take her almost a lifetime before the bigger wound of her daughter’s loss is healed.
Immanuel had promised his four-year-old brother to return with toys. Elna was a teenager who loved to dance but has now left the stage prematurely while Vishnu’s young family was also robbed of his presence forever.
Public Works Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas and Transportation Minister Antony Raju; Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan; Thomas Chazhikadan, MP; and MLAs Anoop Jacob, Mons Joseph, and K. Babu paid their last respects.
