Three persons died and seven others were injured when a bus of North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) rammed against a parked truck from behind at Bidhannagar, some 30km from here, early on Monday.

Residents helped the police and firemen to shift the injured to North Bengal Medical College & Hospital (NBMCH). The bus driver fled, police said.

The bus, eyewitnesses said, was heading towards Siliguri from Calcutta. As it reached Bidhannagar along NH27, the driver lost control and hit a truck standing off the highway.

“Some passengers said the bus was speeding and the driver was talking on his cell phone,” said a source.

The deceased were identified as bus conductor Mridul Das, 48, of Dinhata, Cooch Behar, Santosh Mondal, 38, of Malda and Ibrahim Sheikh, 35 of Dhulian in Murshidabad.

Tourism minister Gautam Deb went to NBMCH and handed over cheques of Rs 2 lakh as compensation to each family of the deceased and Rs 25,000 to a seriously injured passenger.

“The chief minister instructed me,” Deb said. The rest of the injured have been discharged.