Four persons died and another four suffered serious injuries when an SUV collided with a truck in North Dinajpur on Tuesday night.

According to sources, all the victims hail from Kadamtala, a village under Jagadishpur-II panchayat of Raiganj police station.

“Rajkumar Sarkar and his wife Dulali along with some of their neighbours were heading to South Dinajpur district to meet the in-laws of Sarkar’s daughter to resolve an issue, when the accident occured,” said a resident.

As the SUV reached Bangar More, a crossing on SH12, the driver lost control of the vehicle and collided head-on with a truck. As the news spread, locals rushed for help. Also a team from Raiganj police station reached the spot.

Police rescued them and rushed them to Raiganj Government Medical College & Hospital.

“One neighbour Alok Mondal, 45, died at the hospital on Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning, Dulali, 42, another neighbour Anita Sarkar, 36, and the SUV driver Sanjay Sarkar, 38, succumbed to their injuries. The other four are under treatment at the hospital and are reported to be in critical condition,” said a police source.

The police have seized both the vehicles. The truck driver has managed to escape and the cops are in search of him.

Toy train death

An 18-year-old youth died after he was hit by a Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR)
toy train in Kurseong on Wednesday.

The deceased Surya Rawat was a resident of Dak bungalow area of the hill town.

“While the New Jalpaiguri (NJP) bound passenger train was entering Kurseong station, Rawat came on the tracks and was hit by the train. He died on the spot,” said AK Mishra, the director of the DHR.

The mishap, however, didn’t disrupt the train movement and in due course, the toy train headed for NJP.

Police have recovered his body.