Three men died and at least seven people were injured after a pick-up truck they were travelling in toppled on the Barasat-bound flank of Jessore Road, near Michael Nagar, early on Tuesday, police said.

The truck was carrying more than a dozen men and women, who were returning home to Barasat after performing the last rites of a man, said an officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate.

The truck was travelling at a high speed around 1am when one of it’s tyres burst, causing the vehicle to topple over, the officer said. The accident spot is around 4km from the airport.

“The driver lost control of the truck as soon as the tyre burst. After the truck overturned, it slid on the road for around 20 feet before coming to a halt. Most people were flung on the road,” the officer said.

The driver fled the scene soon after the accident.

Some shopkeepers on the stretch and a few passing motorists shifted the injured passengers to the side of the road and alerted a patrol team of the airport police station. Once the patrol team reached the spot, the cops called ambulances and took the injured to Barasat District Hospital.

Three of the passengers —Raju Shaw, 22, his relative Rampadarath Shaw, 50, and Arun Shaw, 32 — were declared dead on arrival. At least 10 other men and women suffered injuries and five of them have been admitted to the hospital.

Vehicles often tend to pick up speed on VIP Road and Jessore Road at night as both the thoroughfares are smooth and wide.

Sawan Shaw, 21, one of the injured, said the pick-up truck was being driven recklessly. “We had banged our head on the driver's cabin several times and asked him to slow down but he did not listen. At Michael Nagar, we heard a loud sound like a firecracker going off. Then I passed out. When I came to and opened my eyes, I saw that I was being helped by a police officer to a vehicle” said Sawan.