At least four people were killed, and three others were injured after a speeding truck rammed into a stationary passenger bus on the day of the Jagannath Rath Yatra in Nandakumar area of West Bengal's East Midnapore district, police said on Thursday.
The accident occurred on Thursday morning near Heriya Bazar on National Highway 116B under the Nandakumar area. According to police, the Kolkata-Digha passenger bus had developed a mechanical fault and was parked by the roadside while the driver and other staff members were carrying out repair work after asking passengers to disembark.
At that time, a Digha-bound truck allegedly lost control and crashed into the rear of the bus at high speed, resulting in multiple casualties. Local residents rushed to the spot after hearing the sound of the crash and alerted the police. Upon receiving the information, the police of Khejuri police station reached the spot.
All the injured were rescued and taken to the Heriya Primary Health Centre, where the doctors declared four of them dead. The remaining three have been sent to the Tamluk District Hospital for advanced treatment. The deceased have been identified as Tapan Das, Shibbrata Patnaik, Ashok Maiti and Shubhdeep Mandal.
One of them is the bus driver who was also killed in the accident. The accident led to a temporary blockade on NH-116B, disrupting traffic movement for some time. Police later restored normalcy and cleared the roadway, and normal traffic resumed.
The truck involved in the accident has been seized, but its driver is absconding. A search has been launched to trace him. The incident cast a pall of gloom over the area on the day of the Jagannath Rath Yatra celebrations. Residents have alleged that accidents are quite frequent on the Digha-Nandakumar national highway. They have demanded immediate steps to prevent them.