Ranchi: The Myanmar consul-general in Calcutta, Pyi Soe, was killed on Friday morning when his SUV skidded while trying to avoid a speeding bike and got crushed by an approaching truck on GT Road in Jharkhand. He was 49.

His wife Nyo Aou (38), personal assistant Tintuang (40) and driver Bipin Singh (51) were injured and admitted to a hospital in Ranchi. Doctors said they were stable.

The accident took place around 9.45am at Nimiyaghat in Giridih, around 150km from Ranchi. Soe and the others were on their way back to Calcutta from Gaya in Bihar.

"According to information that we have, a biker was ahead of the SUV and speeding. Suddenly, the bike took a turn to the right to take a diversion, forcing the SUV driver to apply the brakes. The SUV skidded. A truck coming from the opposite direction hit the SUV," Giridih deputy commissioner Uma Shankar Singh told The Telegraph.

The truck driver has been arrested.

The consul-general, whose consulate is located in Ballygunge Circular Road in Calcutta, had travelled to Gaya in connection with a senior Myanmar army officer's scheduled visit next month, Gaya district magistrate Kumar Ravi said.

The Mahabodhi Mahavihara in Bodhgaya is one of the most important pilgrim centres for Buddhists, who make up 90 per cent of the population in Myanmar.

Soe held consultations with officials of the Gaya-based Officers Training Academy of the Indian Army and visited the Mahavihara with his wife.