A member of the Rakshit family lies dead in the car. Picture by Deepankar Chatterjee

Jamalpur (Burdwan), Oct. 7: Ten Saptami revellers, all from one family, were killed when their Tata Sumo tore through a bridge railing and plunged into a canal last night.

The vehicle fell 25 feet into the Damodar Valley Corporation canal near Chowberia Bazaar in Jamaplur, about 42km from Burdwan town, around 11pm. The bodies were fished out over four hours from 2.30am. The victims included two girls, aged five and eight.

A group of bystanders who started the rescue operation said it took officers from Jamalpur police station two-and-a-half hours to arrive.

The Rakshit family was returning home to Panchra village, 2km from the crash site and 90km from Calcutta, after a trip to pandals in Burdwan, Memari and Jamalpur.

The driver jumped out of the vehicle and was taken to Burdwan Medical College and Hospital with head injuries. Burdwan police chief R. Rajshekharan, who ordered a probe, said the driver, Sukumar Nandan, 28, would be arrested after he recovered. He said Nandan might be able explain why the Sumo fell off the bridge.

The police are also going to arrest the vehicle’s owner Shankar Mullick, a teacher in Panchra High School.

The victims were identified as Uttam Raskhit, 45, his wife Tapati, 36, and their two children, Ananya, 15, and Soumya, 8. Uttam’s brother Asim, 36, his wife Bidyutlata, 32, their two children, Silpika, 8 and Ritwika, 5, also died, as did Ruma, wife of Uttam’s second brother Tapan, and Arindam, 19, the son of another of Uttam’s brothers, Dilip.

Witnesses said Ananya, Bidyutlata and Silpika were found trapped inside the Sumo when it was pulled out of the canal around 2.20am. “We saw the trio trapped inside the vehicle when it was lifted,” said Bapi Das, among the first to come to the rescue after hearing a thud.

Ashok Bhattacharya, a DVC superintending engineer, said the canal was deep as 3,000 cusecs of water had been released in the last few days to help sowing of the boro crop.

A police team that arrived around 2.40am was chased away by angry villagers. A Jamalpur officer said the delay was because they didn’t have enough personnel.

Shibchandra Das, who owns a medicine shop at Chowberia Bazaar, said a crane to fish out the car had been sent by the national highway authority office at Jamalpur. “The rescue operation could have been delayed more if we did not get the crane. Divers were also called to trace the bodies.”

The last body, that of the five-year-old Ritwika, was found this morning. “Around 6am, we stumbled upon her body, entangled with a branch in the canal,” Das said.

A pall of gloom descended on the Rakshit home. “We had never imagined that such a tragedy was waiting for us on Mahasaptami. We don’t know how we will survive the tragedy,” said Swapan, Uttam’s elder brother.