Eight persons, including a minor, died in three accidents in Siliguri and Cooch Behar on Monday.

On Monday afternoon, a car that was on its way to Siliguri from Gangtok collided head-on with a pick-up van on NH10 at Seventh Mile near the city. Three passengers of the car and the van’s driver lost their lives.

Sources said Bikash Gupta (35), a grocer from Gangtok, had left for Siliguri with his friends Sagar Tamang (32) and Vinod Rai (30) in the car of Ronit Rai.

The van entered the wrong lane and rammed into the car at Seventh Mile. Both the vehicles went off the highway.

Police reached the spot. The passengers were rushed to a private nursing home on Sevoke Road in the city where doctors pronounced Bikash and his two friends dead. All of them were Gangtok residents.

The van’s driver, who is yet to be identified, died in the accident. Ronit is under treatment. The police have seized both the vehicles.

In Cooch Behar, four persons died when the e-rickshaw in which they were travelling in was rammed into by a truck from behind on Monday early morning. Three suffered injuries.

The truck hit the e-rickshaw at Paikarertari in Mathabhanga along SH16 around 1am. The three-wheeler fell into a ditch in the impact of the crash.

Basanti Barman (40) died. Doctors pronounced Menaka Barman (35), Manisha Barman (12) and Anita Barman(32) dead at the primary health centre in Jamaldaha.

The other three were referred to the Jalpaiguri district hospital where they are still under treatment. All of them are residents of Bhogramgurivillage under the jurisdiction of Mathabhanga police.

Police are in search of the truck driver who has apparently fled.

Gourav Basak (19), a resident of Mathabhanga in CoochBehar district, was killed after he fell off the two-wheeler he was riding and was run over by a truck. The crash occurred while Basak was negotiating a speed-breaker at Baneswaralong the Cooch Behar-Alipurduar road on Sunday.