Ten injured in Kolaghat after truck hits bus

At least 10 persons were injured, some of them critically, when the bus they were travelling in was hit by a speeding truck from behind.

The accident took place at Kolaghat in East Midnapore when the bus was parked by the side of the road. All the injured passengers were rushed to a private

nursing home at Mecheda. Some of them were later shifted to Tamluk district hospital as their condition deteriorated.

Police said that a bus that runs between Kalyani and Digha was parked on the side of National Highway 6 as the passengers were buying some food from a roadside dhaba.

A speeding truck suddenly lost control and hit the bus from behind, leaving the passengers injured. The driver of the truck fled the spot immediately after the accident, abandoning the vehicle on the scene of the accident.

Local residents participated in the rescue operation and took the victims to the hospital before police reached the spot. The accident led to a traffic jam on National Highway 6. Police reached the spot and traffic movement gradually returned to normal.

Police have started a probe in this regard. Local people told the police that the truck was moving at a very high speed when the accident took place.

Police suspect that the driver of the vehicle might have fallen asleep on the wheel, as a result of which he failed to control the truck when he suddenly saw the bus parked by the side of the road. Police are conducting raids to nab the driver. The vehicle has been seized.