Bag drew her to the jaws of death

ERODE: She was rescued and should have thanked her stars. But she went back to get her bag and met with a tragic end, just like the seven others in the ill-fated omnibus that caught flames after it hit a tanker lorry near Chithodu in the wee hours of Sunday.   Another woman who jumped out after she caught fire fell into a ditch and died.While Sasikumar, Kiranbai, Shanmugavadivu, Jayalakshmi and Kamalika died on the spot, Kevalchand passed away at a private hospital here. Similarly, Muthukumar died in another hospital in Coimbatore.Though bodies of Sasikumar, Kevalchand, Kiranbai and Muthukumar were easily identified, it took time to identify the bodies of Muthukumar’s wife Shanmugavadivu and Jayalakshmi and her granddaughter Kamalika as their family members arrived late.Muthukumar and Shanmugavadivu were residents of the Saibaba Colony in Coimbatore.Jayalakshmi’s relatives were unable to identify the body initially. Later another relative from Bangalore arrived at the scene and identified the body. The death of her granddaughter was also confirmed.“Muthukumar, Dineshbalaji, Kevalchand, Ilavarasan and Kalaivani were first admitted in the Erode GH. Later all were referred to the Coimbatore GH,” Resident Medical Officer of Erode GH Jothinathan told Express. Police officials said the bus operator had faxed the reservation chart and that information was used to identify the bodies. But one could not be sure that the same persons who reserved the seats were travelling in the bus. The coach had a full strength of 32, he added.As the bodies were charred, the police said the victims were identified mostly using the jewellery they wore.