The pick-up van that overturned. A Telegraph picture

Siliguri, Jan. 6: Two 16-year olds died in an accident when their vehicle turned turtle near Simulbari Tea Estate, about 20km from here, this evening.

The twins, Rudranil and Indranil Sarkar, were on their way back home from a picnic.

Residents of Bidyanagar Colony of Champasari, the brothers, along with 10 others, were travelling in a pick-up van belonging to their father that overturned while negotiating a bend, police said.

Rudranil died on the spot and his brother Indranil was referred to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NMBCH) after the accident. He was declared dead there. The driver of the vehicle is absconding, said officers at the Garidhura police outpost under which the accident site falls.

The students of Class VIII of Sriguru Bidyamandir in Champasari had gone to Rohini, about 25km from here. Their father Ram Sarkar, is a businessman at Siliguri Regulated Market, and mother Tapasi, is a CPM local committee member.

A group of students of North Bengal University, who had also gone to Rohini for an outing, were returning to Siliguri in the same vehicle. Tamal Goswami, Susanta Burman and Shuvam Bhattacharjee, students of the chemistry department, were injured in the accident and were also admitted to NBMCH.

The vice-chancellor of the university, Arunava Basu Majumdar, visited the injured students at the hospital and enquired about their health. A doctor attending on them said the trio were “out of danger”.

Jaigaon accident

Eight persons were injured when a North Bengal State Transport Corporation bus and a timber-laden truck collided on NH31 at Ethelbari, 48km from Jaigaon, at 9.30am today. Three critically injured persons were admitted to NBMCH, while five others were released after first aid.

The bus was on its way to Jaigaon from Siliguri and the truck was going to Dankuni in Hooghly district from Alipurduar. Both the vehicles have been seized.