Five-month-old dies in accident in Howrah, 35 injured

A five-month-old child was killed and 35 people were injured in a road accident in which a long distance bus collided against a water tanker on National Highway 6 at Chandrapur near Bagnan in Howrah on Tuesday morning.

Police said the bus was heading to Digha from the Howrah Station. The bus was completely packed and many from the city were going to Digha a day ahead of Holi.

A local tea stall owner, Monotosh Jha, who witnessed the incident, said it seemed that the driver of the bus failed to control the speeding vehicle and directly hit the water tanker, which was brought for the purpose of road construction.

The passengers fell down from their seats as there was a heavy jerk when the bus collided with the tanker.

A woman, who was sitting on the first seat of the bus with the 5-month old son on her lap, fell on the floor of the bus due to the sudden jerk. The boy received injuries to his head.

Local people initiated the rescue work and it was later joined by the police. 

Electric cutter was used to cut open a portion of the bus to bring down the passengers.

All were taken to Uluberia Sub-divisional Hospital where the child was declared brought dead. 

The condition of the driver and the helper was stated to be critical.

A police officer said that it seems that the driver was dozing and it could be the cause of the accident.

The incident led to massive traffic congestion in the area and traffic police had a tough time in clearing it.