Two tourists from Calcutta were killed when a dumper truck rammed into their bike head-on while the duo were returning home from the seaside destination of Digha late on Thursday night.

A fire broke out in the impact of the crash and both the truck and the two-wheeler went up in flames on NH116B.

Kritam Das, 21, was riding the bike, while Uttam Das, 28, was riding pillion. Both were delivery boys of an e-commerce platform. Police sources said Kritam was a resident of Beleghata in Calcutta. Uttam was from Narkeldanga.

The bike was hit by the truck head-on around 11pm on the highway near the Digha Bypass. Rushed to the Digha State General Hospital, both succumbed to their injuries soon after. Their bodies were sent for autopsy at the Contai Hospital later.

Witnesses said the accident was the fault of the truck’s driver, who was at a “very high” speed.

_“There was a loud noise, hearing which I rushed out of my home and saw both the truck and the bike in flames. I informed police immediately and then rushed to the spot to help the injured,” said a resident of Ghersai.

“The two men were very badly hurt. We could tell that they might not make it…. Usually, in these parts, it is the bikers whose indiscipline causes such tragedies. But in this case, it was certainly not so,” he added.

Police from Digha Mohana Coastal and Digha police stations arrived at the spot.

Local resident Ananta Das told the police how it had happened. “The truck was being driven at a very high speed. The fault of its driver caused the accident. It looked like the driver lost control of the vehicle which hit the bike head-on. The bikers were flung and landed with a thud, some distance away, on the road,” Das said later.

“With the mangled bike stuck on the truck’s front, the driver tried to flee with the vehicle. But the friction of the bike with the road caused sparks that ignited a fire. Both the vehicles were on fire in a matter of seconds. The driver got off and made a run for it. We couldn’t catch him in the dark,” he added.

Police sources said both the vehicles had been completely charred in the blaze. The local residents had tried putting the fire out, but it could be doused only after midnight when a fire-tender was sent.

The incident affected traffic for hours on either side of the highway. “Digha proper does not have a fire station. The fire-tender was brought from Ramnagar, 15km away. It took some time. After the fire-fighting ended, the traffic could be gradually normalised,” said Digha Mohana Coastal police station’s officer-in-charge Binoy Manna.