7 labourers from Bengal killed in Odisha road mishap

Kolkata: Seven daily labourers from Nehalpur village in Basirhat in the North 24-Parganas district were killed in a road accident at Dharmasala in Odisha on Saturday. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has assigned the responsibility of handling all communications related to making arrangements for bringing back the bodies of the labourers to state Forest Minister Jyotipriya Mallick.

The seven deceased labourers were identified as Suraj Mondal (44), Md Amirul Ali Sardar (26), Karim Sardar (26), Md Amjad Ali Sardar (26), Md Arif Sardar (27), Jahangir Sardar (32) and Moajjem Sardar (32). Three of the deceased were from the same family and the rest were residents of the same village. The incident took place when the mini-truck they were travelling in collided with a stationary truck in Odisha’s Jajpur district. Of the seven deceased, six died on the spot while one succumbed to his injuries while being taken to SCB Medical College and Hospital. It has been claimed that the accident took place due to fog. The mini-truck was on its way to Bhubaneswar from Kolkata to buy poultry items when it crashed into the stationary truck.

The bodies were recovered by the fire and safety units who had arrived on the spot along with Dharmasala police. Their bodies were kept at the Barchana Community Health Centre in Jajpur district. The state government, on the instructions of Chief Minister Banerjee has already contacted the Odisha government and the families of the deceased labourers. Arrangements have been made to bring back the deceased labourers’ bodies to their homes. The state government is providing all kinds of support in this regard.