West Bengal: Car catches fire after collision, couple dies

A bank employee and his wife died when their car collided with a passenger bus and caught fire in West Midnapore on Monday evening.

The accident occurred on a state highway near Burishola forest of Bhadutala under the jurisdiction of Salboni police station.

According to local resident Tarun Mahato, a private bus was going from Midnapore city towards Pirakata at around 4 pm when a car came from the opposite direction and collided with it at high speed.

“The private car had a head-on collision with the bus, due to which the small vehicle was dragged for about 100 metres. The bus dragged the car and its oil tank burst
And the flames engulfed the vehicle, leaving no one with any chance to save its occupants. The intensity of the fire was so severe that there was no chance to save the two people trapped inside the car.

Police and fire brigade officials reached the spot. When firefighters initially brought the fire under control, it was challenging to determine the number of people in the car.

After the flames were extinguished, it was found that there were two people in the car – Pradeep Kumar Ray, 62, and Swapna Halder (Ray), 55.

While Pradeep, an employee of Bangiya Rural Development Bank and a resident of Midnapore city, was driving the car, his wife Swapna was the second passenger.

“Both the people traveling in the private car died. The bodies have been sent to Midnapore Medical College Hospital for post-mortem. Efforts are on to inform their families about the accident,” said a senior officer from Salboni police station.

Preliminary police investigation revealed that the collision caused the fuel tank of the car to burst, causing the fire. However, according to police, there was no significant damage to the bus and some passengers suffered minor injuries.

“The 21 bus passengers were released after initial medical care at Midnapore Medical College and Hospital,” a police source said.

Local residents said that the highway spread over
there was an accident
Notorious for high-speed driving.

“Not many vehicles ply on the road passing near Burishola forest. Due to this, drivers drive at high speed and make themselves victims of such accidents. The police should take preventive measures,” said another local resident.

Accident

A 72-year-old woman was hit by a vehicle on Calcutta’s CR Avenue on Sunday morning. Kaushalya Devi Saraf, a resident of Jorasanko, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Salt Lake for multiple injuries.