Eight Indians, including two women, were killed on the spot, and four others injured in a horrific motorway crash in Britain in what is the worst road accident on a UK motorway in 24 years.
The crash happened on Saturday morning at Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire when a minibus carrying a group of Wipro IT professionals and their families collided with two lorries. Three of the Wipro employees were killed while a fourth, who is critically injured, is in a hospital. The driver of the bus, who died too, was an Indian.
Both the lorry drivers were arrested on the spot and taken into police custody. They have been charged with causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving. One of them has also been charged with drunken-driving, and he will appear in a UK court on Monday.
"It's with deep regret and sadness that we confirm the passing away of three of our colleagues, Karthikeyan Ramasubramaniyam Pugalur, Rishi Rajeev Kumar, and Vivek Bhaskaran in a tragic road accident in the UK," Ramesh Phillips, head-operations support-UK/Europe, Wipro Ltd, told TOI.
"Another colleague, Mano Ranjan Panneerselvam was critically injured in the accident and we are praying for his speedy recovery. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of all those who lost their lives in this tragedy. We will continue to provide all assistance to the families in this hour of grief," Phillips said.
The 16-seater minibus was flattened after it hit a FedEX lorry and AIM Logistics truck. The group in the minibus was travelling between Nottingham and London before embarking on a trip around Europe via the Eurostar. The southbound carriageway of the M1 was closed for 10 hours.
Nine fire engines rushed to the scene where 35 firefighters and crew used hydraulic rescue equipment to pull four people out of the wreckage alive, Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire and Rescue Service said.
Cyriac Joseph, 52, father of two from Kerala, who lived in Sherwood, Nottingham, known as Benny, the driver of the minibus, is among the dead. He had lived in the UK for 15 years and is from Pala in Kerala. He studied at St Thomas College.
On Sunday, Thames Valley Police charged Ryszard Masierak, aged 31, of Barnards Close, Evesham, Worcestershire, with eight counts of causing death by dangerous driving, four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and eight counts of causing death by careless driving while over the prescribed limit. He was remanded in custody to appear at High Wycombe Magistrates' Court on Monday.
David Wagstaff, aged 53, of Derwent Street, Stoke-on-Trent, was charged with eight counts of causing death by dangerous driving and four counts causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He was bailed to appear at Milton Keynes Magistrates' Court on 11 September.
This is the highest recorded number of fatalities on a British motorway since November 1993, when 12 children and their teacher died in a minibus crash on the M40.
Among those dead were Wipro employee Karthikeyan Ramasubramaniyam Pugalu and his wife, Wipro employees Rishi Rajeev Kumar and Vivek Bhaskaran. Wipro emploee Mano Ranjan Panneerselvam and his wife Sangeeta are injured but their uncle and parents are dead.
Those who survived but were injured are, Karthikeyan and his wife's five year old daughter, who are reported to be in life threatening condition. The injured include Mano's aunt.
Joseph's friend Manu Zachariah, from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, who lives in Nottingham, told TOI, "Cyriac was picking up people who were working in Nottingham and driving them to London as they were all travelling to Europe - he was taking them to Eurostar."
He added, "There were 12 Indians in the minibus including Cyriac. They were all from Kerala and Tamil Nadu... Cyriac was a very close friend. He was president of the Nottingham Malayalee Cultural Association when I was secretary. He was very enthusiastic, hard-working and loving. Whenever there was a problem he was there to help me. He was always willing to go the extra mile. His wife Ancy is a nurse at Nottingham City Hospital and she was on night duty when it happened. This is such a tragic situation."
Chief inspector Henry Parsons, from the joint operations unit for road policing, said, "The scene facing the officers who attended was complex and the recovery operation which followed was challenging. Tragically, eight people lost their lives, with four further people seriously injured, and it is our duty to establish the circumstances of what happened.
"Officers are working to inform the next of kin of the people who died and specially-trained family liaison officers will be offering them their support. Some of those involved were visiting the UK from India and we are working to keep families abroad informed.
"This collision was deeply distressing for the members of the public who witnessed it, along with the emergency service workers who attended and displayed high levels of professionalism. Thames Valley Police has highly-trained collision investigators who, over the coming weeks and months, will work to determine what caused this tragedy.
"I would like to reiterate, it is vitally important that anyone who saw what happened, who has not already spoken to officers, comes forward with information."
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