Five people were killed after a poultry-laden pickup van crashed into a sand truck parked by the roadside on NH12 near Bhiti in North Dinajpur’s Raiganj police station area early on Saturday, highlighting the risks created when heavy vehicles stop on a highway without adequate protection or warning measures.
Residents said the collision occurred around 4am. The impact left the pickup van mangled and trapped its occupants inside. Four people were found dead at the scene, while a fifth person, who was critically injured, died after being taken to Raiganj Government Medical College & Hospital.
The deceased were identified as Sohel Akhtar, 45; Shayen Akhtar, 16; Ramzan Momin, 25; Hasrat Ali, 16; and Mohammad Mustafa, 18. All five were from different localities in the Kaliachak police station area of Malda district. Their bodies were sent for post-mortem examination.
The crash was reported after the sound of the impact alerted nearby residents. Local people reached the spot and began rescue efforts before a police team arrived. Police seized both vehicles and started an investigation into the circumstances of the collision.
Ahad Sheikh, the driver of the sand-laden truck, told the newspaper that he had been travelling towards Malda when the vehicle ran out of fuel. He said he parked the truck by the side of the highway and carried a drum to a nearby petrol pump. “When I returned, I found that the accident had taken place,” he said.
The incident occurred amid two separate road accidents in Malda and North Dinajpur since Thursday night that together left six people dead and nine injured. The second accident took place near the entrance of Gazole railway station at Karallabhita More in Malda district.
In that crash, an e-rickshaw carrying a family from Babupur collided head-on with a police patrol van travelling from Gazole towards Deotala. The family was reportedly on its way to catch a train to Howrah. Bystanders and police personnel rescued the injured and took them to the state general hospital in Gazole.
Doctors declared 41-year-old Jarjis Alam, a resident of Babupur, dead. The other injured people were later referred to Malda Medical College & Hospital. Three police personnel were among the nine people injured in the collision.
Police have registered a case in the Gazole accident and said an inquiry was under way. In the NH12 crash, the seized vehicles and post-mortem examination are part of the investigation into the fatal collision.
