Calcutta, Dec. 26: Tragedy struck a senior Bengal police officer’s family as they holidayed in Tamil Nadu, with a car crash killing his wife and only daughter today.

Sadhan Chandra Mondal, inspector-general of police (intelligence branch), is fighting for his life in a Madurai hospital after the accident that also killed the driver, Mohammed Ali.

The Mondals were travelling to Madurai from Kanyakumari in an Ambassador when, around 11 this morning, Ali lost control while taking a turn at high speed and rammed the car into a state transport bus.

Sixteen-year-old Sulekha died on the spot while Laxmi Mondal succumbed to her injuries on the way to hospital from the accident site, about 30 km from Madurai.

Mondal, who suffered severe head and face injuries, is on ventilator in the hospital’s intensive care unit, police said in Calcutta.

A team of Intelligence Branch officials will leave for Madurai tomorrow. “It’s an unfortunate incident. We are trying to rush our officers to Mad- urai. We will do whatever we can,” a senior Bengal police officer said.

Mondal was on a tour of southern India and, after visiting Kanyakumari, had decided to drive to the Meenakshi temple in Madurai, police sources said.