The crash occurred around five kilometres from Pillaiyarpatti in the Tirupattur area.

Tamil Nadu’s Director General of Police confirmed the death toll, calling it one of the state’s worst public transport accidents in recent months.

Witnesses said the impact was so severe that the driver’s side of one bus was completely torn off, leaving both vehicles mangled.

Rescue efforts were led by local residents and passengers, who pulled victims from the wreckage before emergency teams arrived.

According to officials, one bus was travelling from Tiruppur to Karaikudi, while the other was en route from Karaikudi to Dindigul.

Graphic videos from the scene showed bodies lying on the roadside, a woman leaping out of the shattered front of a bus, and several passengers bleeding as they waited for help.

Ambulances transported the injured to nearby hospitals, where the condition of many passengers remains unclear.

Authorities said the cause of the collision is still under investigation.

Sunday’s crash is the second major head-on bus accident in southern Tamil Nadu within a week.

Last week, six people died in Tenkasi district when two private buses rammed into each other, with investigators citing reckless driving as a possible reason.