Three persons died and two suffered serious injuries after a vehicle ferrying them went off the road and rammed into a tree on NH31 in North Dinajpur on Thursday night.

Police said the victims were travelling from Suryapur of Dalkhola to Islampur. The driver lost control of the vehicle and the accident took place in the Ghordhappa area.

“The impact of the crash was so intense that the vehicle had virtually turned into a mangled junk of metal. It took us time to take out all the five passengers who were rushed to the sub-divisional hospital in Islampur. Doctors pronounced three of them dead on arrival. The injured are under treatment,” said a police officer.

The deceased are Mohammad Mohzam, 30, who hailed from Katihar in Bihar, Kaushar Alam, 25, and Vikram, 26, both residents of Dalkhola.