Six people died and another was injured in a road accident on NH-12 on the outskirts of Malda town on Saturday night.

Pradeep Kumar Yadav, Malda superintendent of police, said that an SUV was heading towards Kaliachak along the highway. At around 10.30pm, it collided head-on with the truck near the Gour Banga railway station.

“The front portion of the SUV got completely damaged due to the accident’s impact. Five passengers died on the spot. Two others were rushed to Malda Medical College & Hospital and later, one of them succumbed to the injuries,” said Yadav.

All of them are from different villages located under Kaliachak police station.

“The SUV was traveling at high speed. It suddenly jumped over a divider and hit the truck in the opposite lane of the highway,” he added.

As the news spread, a team from Englishbazar police station reached the spot. The police have registered a case and initiated a probe.

The deceased have been identified as Sakin Akhtar, 18, Naim Sheikh, 16, Anikul Sheikh, 20, Masidur Sheikh, 18, Nur Islam, 19, and Nur Hassan Sheikh, 19.

Parvez Sheikh, 20, undergoing treatment at the Malda Medical College and Hospital, is in a critical condition.

Sabinal Yeasmin, the minister of state of North Bengal development, Abdul Ghani, the Trinamool MLA of Sujapur and some other party leaders visited the hospital on Sunday.

“The accident took away six lives. It is an unfortunate incident and chief minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed her condolences. The state has also declared a compensation of two lakh rupees for the deceased’ nearest kin,” said Yeasmin.