Calcutta, May 21: It was a night of horror for people travelling down New Town Airport Road connecting the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass to VIP Road, with two accidents in the wee hours of Saturday claiming six lives and leaving 25 injured within three hours.

The road leads to the airport bypassing Salt Lake.

“A speeding matador van carrying about 30 people had overturned around 3.30 am. Biswanath Mondal, 30, and Manas Mondal, 22, died on the spot,” said Praveen Kumar, the North 24-Parganas superintendent of police.

“Twenty passengers were rushed to NRS Medical College and Hospital, where two of them, Kena Mondal, 42, and Prabir Mondal, 25, succumbed to injuries,” he said.

The matador was carrying men of a family who were returning home after cremating a relative at Nimtala Ghat. The driver lost control of the vehicle as he took the 90-degree turn at Narendranagar. The van skidded for about 15 metres before coming to rest on its side.

Barely half-a-km away at the Chakpachuria settlement, Tarak Saha, an agricultural labourer, had just woken up when he heard the screech of tyres followed by a loud crash and the cries of people in pain. It took him half an hour in the darkness to locate the matador van.

“The van’s headlights were still on and I could see human figures. Some people were sitting on the road, others were crawling away from the van. Their clothes were torn and most of them were bleeding. Some distance away, two bodies lay sprawled and lifeless,” Saha recollected.

By that time, other people had also reached the spot and the police were informed. The injured were rushed to NRS Medical College and Hospital.

“Biswanath and Manas, it appears, had been flung out of the matador van and had hit the divider of the road with great force. Both died on the spot, with multiple fractures on the head, arms and legs,” Kumar said of the accident at Narendranagar.

At NRS Medical College and Hospital, Kena and Prabir succumbed to haemorrhage, while 18 were admitted for treatment. Two were said to be in critical condition.

Earlier, at 12.15 am, a car collided sideways with a Tata 407 truck at Mahishbathan, on the same road barely a km from Narendranagar. Seven persons were injured in the mishap and were taken to NRS Medical College and Hospital, where two were admitted in a serious condition.

“Both vehicles were impounded at Baguiati police outpost, but the drivers had fled. We will catch them soon and bring them to book,” Kumar said.

The 7-km stretch of Newtownship Road has two right-angle curves that drivers navigate without slowing down. Four persons, including a 14-year-old girl, have died in accidents on the road.