An SUV hired by the state PWD department went out of control and hit at least six persons, including two children, on the premises of the district magistrate's office in the heart of Malda town on Tuesday.

The incident, sources said, occurred as the driver reportedly had an epileptic seizure.

After the accident, many people panicked and ran away from the spot. Some others, however, got agitated, pelted stones at the vehicle and also tried to grab the driver.

Police intervened promptly, took away the driver, and brought the situation under control.

An eyewitness of the accident said the SUV was moving to the Vrindabondi Ground from the district administrative headquarters premises along a narrow road. Suddenly, the vehicle gained speed and started moving erratically.

People moving or standing on both sides of the road started yelling. By then, the vehicle had started hitting people one after another.

“There was an engineer of the state PWD department in the vehicle. He also panicked and jumped out of the car. The vehicle, which injured seven people, eventually rammed into a boundary pillar and came to a halt,” said a person standing nearby.

People rushed and rescued the injured. They were taken to the Malda Medical College and Hospital (MMCH).

Within a couple of minutes, police reached the spot and cordoned off the vehicle. “The driver was taken out of the car and detained,” said a senior officer of the district administration.

The injured, MMCH sources said, are two children Afrin Khatun, 8, and Farhan Sheikh, 10 of Manikchak, and adults of various ages — Ainul Sheikh, Gita Poddar and Mandira Das of Old Malda and Samiul Sheik of Manikchak.

All of them had been to the district magistrate's office on errands.

Nitin Singhania, the DM, and Pradeep Kumar Yadav, the superintendent of police, visited the MMCH and spoke to the injured and their relatives.

“Among the injured, two are critical but others are stable. The driver claimed that he had an infirmity and lost consciousness for some time. We are examining his statement and will also check out whether he has epilepsy,” said Yadav.