Five killed in two road accidents on National Highway 19 in Durgapur
Three people on a motorcycle that hit a truck and two in a car that hit a bus died on Sunday; five others were seriously injured, police said.
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Two road accidents at different places in Durgapur, in West Bengal's Paschim Bardhaman district, on Sunday left five people dead and five seriously injured, police said. Both accidents took place on National Highway 19.
Durga Puja is celebrated with great pomp in West Bengal during Navratri, much as Ganeshotsav is in Maharashtra. Several people lost their lives in an accident in Kolkata on Saturday night, and two road accidents followed in Durgapur the next day.
Rashpreet Singh, DCP (East) of the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate, said five people had died so far in the two accidents in Durgapur on Sunday morning. Several of the injured have been admitted to hospital and are undergoing treatment.
The first accident involved a motorcycle and a truck. According to police, two young men and a woman were riding the motorcycle from Bhiringi crossing in Durgapur towards Piyala. The speeding rider lost control and the motorcycle rammed into a truck ahead of it from behind.
The impact was so strong that all three on the motorcycle were thrown in different directions. Locals admitted the three seriously injured people to a hospital in Durgapur, but all three died during treatment.
Locals claimed the motorcycle was travelling at a very high speed. After the collision, its front wheel was lodged completely in the rear of the truck. Police then separated the motorcycle and the truck with the help of a crane. Police are investigating how fast the motorcycle was going at the time of the accident, and are also checking whether the rider had been drinking.
In the second incident, a car rammed a bus from behind. The accident happened as the car, travelling from Durgapur to Asansol on National Highway 19, was entering the service road at Andal crossing. According to police, there were seven people in the car, including the driver. Two died on the spot, while the other five are seriously injured. All are being treated at Bidhannagar hospital.
According to preliminary information, the car's occupants were returning home after attending a cultural programme. Police have begun investigating both accidents. Officials are trying to establish exactly how the car hit the bus and how the driver lost control.
