Three killed, 4 injured in 2 separate accidents

Kolkata: Three persons, including a school teacher, were killed while four others have been injured in two separate road accidents in the state on Thursday.

The first incident took place on National Highway 60 near Chandrakona in West Midnapore in the wee hours of Thursday when a Maruti van fell into a pond.

The victim, identified as Nayan Singha, who was travelling in the car, was declared brought dead after being taken to Midnapore Medical College and Hospital. The driver of the car has been undergoing treatment at the same hospital with critical injuries in various parts of his body.

According to the preliminary investigation, police suspect that driver might have lost control over the vehicle as it was at a high speed. Poor visibility caused due to heavy mist might have led to the accident, police suspect.

After being informed by the local residents, police reached the spot and found that the car was in a submerged condition. Divers were brought in, who rescued the victims. Singha, a school teacher, was declared brought dead at the hospital while his driver has been battling for life.

In the other incident, two persons were killed and three others were injured when a pickup van, carrying the passengers, collided head-on with a speeding truck coming from the opposite direction on National Highway 34 at Suliapara area under Itahar police station in North Dinajpur. The incident, which took place on Thursday morning, led to traffic congestion on the national highway.

Eye-witnesses told police that both the vehicles were at a high speed when the accident took place.

While taking a sharp turn at Suliapara, the truck driver lost control over the vehicle and it hit the pickup van. Police said that the victims were bidi workers, who were taking their goods to Omarpur market.

Local residents rushed the injured victims to Itahar Primary Health Centre, where one of the injured victims was pronounced brought dead. The others were shifted to Raigunge Superspecialty Hospital where another victim died later on. Three are currently undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Police later recovered the pickup van and are conducting raids to nab the truck driver who fled from the spot along with the vehicle, immediately after the accident. A probe has been initiated.