Eight persons were killed and at least 26 others injured in two road accidents in north Bengal between Saturday night and Sunday morning.
Six persons died in a bus-truck collision in Jalpaiguri. Two more died when a truck plunged into a river in Alipurduar.
Around 8.30am on Sunday, a North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) bus headed from Siliguri to Cooch Behar rammed into a goods truck parked on the roadside near Jalpaiguri’s Ulladabri on NH27.
The impact was so severe that six passengers on the bus, including a toddler, were killed. At least 27 others were injured, of whom three are critical. Police arrested the bus driver.
“My heart goes out to the families who have lost their loved ones in this horrific incident. I offer my deepest condolences to the bereaved kin and pray for the speedy recovery of all the injured passengers,” chief minister Suvendu Adhikari said on X.
Suvendu announced compensation of ₹5 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased, ₹1 lakh each for grievously injured and ₹50,000 each for those with minor injuries. The state will bear the entire cost of treatment of the injured at government medical facilities.
According to police sources, residents heard a loud crash and rushed to help. “A truck was parked by the roadside. Suddenly, the speeding bus rammed into the truck. The impact shattered the entire left side of the bus. Passengers started screaming. We rushed over and began the rescue work,” said Riju Roy, a resident.
Binod Kumar, an injured passenger who was later discharged from the hospital, alleged the bus was speeding.
Senior police officers said that of the six persons who died, one couldn’t be identified. The five were Pampa Das Saha, 26, of Tikiapara in Siliguri; her 18-month-old son, Bibek Saha; Shubhankar Shil, 32, of Chapaguri in Cooch Behar; Sajal Sarkar, 26, of Bhangarhat in Maynaguri; and Jamuna Roy, 49, of Huslurdanga, Jalpaiguri.
Anandamay Barman, minister in charge of transport, met the injured.
In the second accident, two persons died when a truck plunged into the swollen Bhandani river near Mendabari on NH31C under Kalchini block of Alipurduar district, around 28km from Alipurduar town, on Saturday night.
Police suspect heavy rain caused the driver to lose control. Rescue operations could not be carried out immediately because of adverse weather. On Sunday morning, rescuers found the bodies of the driver, Asif Hosain, 46, and his assistant, Akhilesh Yadav, 20, both from Bilaspur in Uttar Pradesh.