Chennai, Nov 9 (IANS): A moped rider was killed in Tamil Nadu’s Salem district on Saturday after the moped he was riding collided with a bus, which was carrying 30 passengers.

An official identified the victim as P. Periyasamy (60), a resident of Veerapandiyar Nagar near Chinnagoundanur in Salem district.

He said that all 30 passengers of the bus escaped unhurt which was travelling from Coimbatore to Chennai.

A police official told IANS that the bus driver had applied the breaks when he saw an elderly man crossing the road on a moped. However, the driver could not save Periyasamy.

He added that the bus also caught fire due to the leakage in the fuel tank. “Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services personnel extinguished the fire within a limited time but the bus could not be saved and was fully gutted,” he said.

He said that the deceased was working as a security guard at a truck workshop in a locality in Salem. “We have also sent the body to Salem Government Hospital for a postmortem examination and registered a case,” he said.

On Thursday, ten people, including the driver and conductor of a Tamil Nadu government bus, were injured when the bus collided with a truck carrying iron rods on the Chennai-Tiruchi highway in Chengalpattu district.

On Monday, a female Sub-Inspector and a female Head Constable lost their lives when their two-wheeler was struck by a speeding car.

The deceased, Sub-Inspector Jayashree (36) and Head Constable Nithya, both from Madhavaram Police Station, were reportedly on duty and headed to arrest a suspect when the accident occurred near Sirunagalur.

On October 31, S. Krishnaveni, a Special Sub-Inspector of Tamil Nadu police, was also struck by a speeding motorbike.