Fourteen persons are suspected to have fallen in the Ganga as eight trucks loaded with sand and stone chips tumbled into the river from a vessel (large steamer) that had brought the vehicles from Jharkhand’s Rajmahal to Manikchak in Malda.

The vessel had just been anchored at Manikchak on Monday evening when the mishap happened. Around 14 people — workers and helpers on trucks, mostly Jharkhand residents — are suspected missing. Senior police and administrative officials, and a disaster management team are searching for the men.

In Malda, it is a common practice to bring the trucks from Jharkhand via waterways.

“Around 7.15pm, the vessel anchored at Manikchak, and iron planks were laid out so that the trucks could roll out of the vessel. As the first truck moved out, the planks trembled. This shook the vessel, and a truck at the rear fell into the river. As the vehicles were in a row, other trucks started rolling back and fell into the river one by one,” said a source in the administration.

During preliminary probe, the police learnt that 22 men fell in the river, among whom eight swam up but 14 could not.

A source said the drivers of the trucks managed to get off the vehicles in time. The men who fell in the river were workers (who load and unload consignments) and helpers.

Rajarshi Mitra, Malda district magistrate, and superintendent of police Alok Rajoria are learnt to have headed for Manikchak.

Gour Mondal, the sabhadhipati of Malda Zilla Parishad, and some Trinamul leaders, also went to the site.

The district magistrate said it needed to be verified exactly how many men are missing and it would be probed if proper safety measures were followed.

The eight men who could swim up have been sent to a hospital in Manikchak.