Five construction workers were electrocuted while working at a building in Shasthiya village in Dinhata, around 30km from here, on Sunday afternoon.
Three other workers were critically injured in the accident. They are being treated at the Dinhata subdivisional hospital.
According to a resident, the workers were manually moving a cement mixing machine from an under-construction building around 5.10pm when it accidentally brushed against a high-voltage power line.
Eyewitnesses claim that five workers were electrocuted and collapsed on the spot.
The deceased were in their mid-20s to 30s and were from different areas within the Dinhata police station limits.
A police source said they are Mukul Barman from Vetaguri, Raju Sen from Okrabari, Mithun Pal from Burirhat, Suman from the Boys Recreation Club area and Sanjay Barman from Singijani in Vetaguri.
Since the incident, questions have been raised about the safety measures taken at the construction site. Police, who later inspected the scene of the mishap, are investigating whether necessary precautions were taken while working near high-voltage lines.
Udayan Guha, Dinhata MLA and the minister of the north Bengal development department, said: “The administration is making the required arrangements to provide aid to those who are under treatment.”
According to hospital and police sources, the three injured workers are currently stable.
An investigation is on.