Inquest into deaths of eight people in M1 crash opened and adjourned

An inquest into the deaths of eight people killed in a crash on the M1 in Buckinghamshire has been opened and adjourned pending the outcome of criminal proceedings.

The hearing at Milton Keynes Coroner's Court saw formal confirmation of the names of all the victims, who were travelling in a minibus carrying a party of Indian tourists.

Four of those who died - minibus driver Cyriac Joseph, 52, and IT workers Rishi Rajeev Kumar, 27, Vivek Baskaran, 26, and 33-year-old Karthikeyan Pugalur Ramasubramanian - had already been named.

Tuesday's hearing was told that Panneerselvam Annamalai, 63, Subramaniyan Arachelvan, 58; Lavanyalakshmi Seetharaman, 32, and Tamilmani Arachelvan, 50, were also among those killed.

Mr Joseph was driving the party of five other men and two women from Nottingham to London, from where they were due to start a tour of Europe.

Two lorry drivers have been charged in connection with the crash on the southbound M1 in the early hours of Saturday August 26.