In a heart-wrenching tragedy, nine people lost their lives in a brutal road accident in the early hours of Friday on National Highway 18 near Namshol in West Bengal’s Purulia district. The victims, all residents of Jharkhand, were returning from a wedding when their vehicle collided head-on with a truck, leaving no survivors inside the SUV.
According to Balrampur Police, the Bolero SUV was traveling toward Purulia when the driver reportedly lost control and slammed into an oncoming truck. The impact of the collision was so intense that the truck veered off the road, overturned and landed in an adjacent paddy field.
Local residents rushed to the scene and helped transport the victims to the Banshgarh Block Health Center. Tragically, doctors there declared all nine passengers dead upon arrival. The incident has cast a pall of mourning over both the Purulia district and the Tilaitar area of Jharkhand, where the victims hailed from.
All nine deceased were from Jharkhand’s Nimdi Police Station jurisdiction. Among them, eight were residents of Tilaitar village, and one hailed from Raghunathpur. The driver, too, was a local from the Muru area. The victims have been identified as Vijay Mahato, Swapan Mahato, Ajay Mahato, Brihaspati Mahato, Gurupada Mahato, Shashank Mahato, Krishna Mahato, Chandramohan Mahato from Raghunathpur and driver Chittaranjan Mahato.
Post-mortem examinations are scheduled to be conducted at Purulia Medical College.
NH-18: A death trap?
Locals and road safety advocates have long flagged the stretch of NH-18 that passes through the Balrampur police jurisdiction as a danger zone, frequently witnessing both minor mishaps and fatal accidents. Friday’s catastrophe, however, stands out not only for the number of lives lost but also for the circumstances—an entire vehicle wiped out in an instant.
This incident comes on the heels of another fatal crash just days earlier in Purba Medinipur district. Near the Irinchi Bridge under Heria Police Station, five members of a family died and four others sustained injuries in a late-night accident involving an auto-rickshaw and two cars.
The victims, residents of the Chalti area under Kanthi Police Station, had returned from Delhi to celebrate Eid. After arriving by train in Haldia, they were traveling home by auto when their vehicle was struck by two cars. The auto driver was among those who perished at the scene.
With two major accidents claiming 14 lives within the span of a few days, questions are being raised about the efficacy of traffic management and road safety enforcement across Bengal’s highways. Experts are calling for urgent intervention—including stricter monitoring, better road design, and awareness campaigns—to stem the rising tide of vehicular fatalities.
