A white WagonR parked at Nimtala Ghat rolled backwards into the Hooghly on Thursday morning, injuring three people who were sleeping on the ghat.

The vehicle’s owner, Amit Agarwal, a resident of 188B Maniktala Main Road, had taken his mother to the nearby Bhootnath temple to offer prayers and left the car unattended, which then slipped into the river during high tide. The car is registered in the name of Amit’s father, police said.

After parking the vehicle on the immersion ghat, Amit left, the police said. Moments later, the car began rolling toward the river without anyone inside. The police suspect the handbrake was not applied properly, causing the vehicle to roll. “Three people were injured due to the rolling car,” said an officer.

An eyewitness, who requested anonymity, described the moment: “I saw the car slowly moving backwards towards the water. I looked around for the owner but found no one nearby. Before anyone could react, the car rolled over some people who were sleeping there. Everyone was shocked.”

The police identified the injured as Tarak Sarkar, 54, and his wife Sumi Sarkar, 42. Both were admitted to Medical College Kolkata for treatment. Another woman who was hurt received treatment and was discharged.

When the car slipped into the river, some people jumped into the water and tied it with ropes to prevent it from drifting too far with the tide. Despite their efforts, the rising high tide soon submerged the vehicle, making immediate recovery impossible.

“As the tide rose, we knew the car would no longer be accessible. We waited for low tide and eventually spotted the roof just above the water’s surface. By then, it had drifted towards the wooden furnace of the crematorium,” said a police officer involved in the rescue.

Once the water receded, disaster management personnel entered the river and swam to the vehicle. A barge equipped with a crane was positioned close to the spot where the car floated. The crane operator hooked a belt around the rear of the car and lifted it from the water.

This is not the first such incident at Nimtala Ghat. In June 2024, a similar accident occurred at nearly the same spot, when a parked car with an 11-year-old boy inside rolled into the river. The child was rescued just seconds before the car slipped into the water, after rescuers smashed the windows. His parents had stepped away only a few metres to offer prayers, leaving him inside the vehicle.