5 from WB die in accident at Tangi

CUTTACK: Five persons from West Bengal were killed and two others seriously injured when the van in which they were travelling rammed into a bus on National Highway No-5 at Tangi Market Square on Monday. Six persons in the van, including the driver, were bringing a patient to Cuttack from Midnapore for treatment, when the accident took place. The driver of the van apparently lost control and hit the bus from behind. The Cuttack-bound bus had just stopped at the Square to let passengers get down or board. The speeding van got crushed in the rear of the bus killing five persons on the spot. The deceased have been identified as the driver Anup Maity, Sukumar Maity, Gouranga Maity, Mukul Chakraborty and Tapan Maity. Sukumar Maity was reportedly the patient who was to be admitted to a private hospital in Cuttack. Two others, Nachikanta Maity and Siba Prasad Maity, however, were rescued by the police and rushed to the SCB Medical College and Hospital. They are stated to be critical, but out of danger. Tangi police station IIC Sunil Mohanty said the accident occurred at around 6.15 am. Either there might have been some technical problem in the van or the driver could have dozed off leading to the accident. “As the van rammed into the bus, the passengers were trapped inside. The driver  and the patient were completely pressed under the mangled structure of the bus. We had to rush in cranes and vehicle cutting machinery to cut down the van and retrieve the people from inside. Anup and Sukumar  died on the spot while others succumbed on way to hospital”, he said.