5 killed as sand-laden truck overturns on a hut
Kolkata: Five persons of a family, including two children, were killed after a sand-laden truck lost control and overturned on a hut at Galsi in East Burdwan on the wee hours of Wednesday.
According to people of the area, the incident occurred at around 4:30 am at Shikarpur village adjoining the Damodar river in Galsi. At the time of the accident, five persons, including a two-year-old boy and a nine-year-old girl were sleeping inside the hut. Hearing the sound of the crash, locals ran to the hut and started rescuing the victims.
After removing the sand, villagers rescued the residents of the hut and rushed them to Burdwan Medical College and Hospital. At the hospital, doctors declared the five persons including the two children as 'brought dead'. Another member of the family has been admitted to the hospital in a critical condition.
The incident sparked off angry reprisals by the villagers who set ablaze several trucks, dumpers and earthmovers protesting sand mining at the river bed, prompting heavy police deployment in the area. Villagers also set fire to a sand mining office approximately three kilometres away from the spot. Later huge police force went to the spot and brought the situation under control.
Sources said that the driver was driving the truck under the influence of alcohol. Police have arrested the driver and seized the truck.