One Journey, Nine Funerals - 9 Killed Instantly as SUV Crushed by Truck in Shocking Morning Crash

Neemdih/Purulia(The Uttam Hindu): In a devastating early morning accident on National Highway-18 near Namsol village under Balarampur Police Station in Purulia district of West Bengal, nine people lost their lives after a Bolero SUV collided head-on with a trailer truck. The accident occurred around 7 a.m. on Friday, leaving the vehicle mangled beyond recognition.

The impact was so severe that several occupants were trapped inside the crushed Bolero. Rescue teams had to work strenuously to extract the victims from the wreckage. While some died on the spot, others succumbed to injuries while being taken to Balarampur hospital.

According to reports, eight of the deceased were residents of Tilaitand village under Lakdi Panchayat in the Neemdih police station area, identified as Biru Mahato, Ajay Mahato, Vijay Mahato, Swapan Mahato, Gurupad Mahato, Shashank Mahato, Chitt Mahato, and Krishna Mahato. The ninth victim, Chandramohan Mahato, belonged to Raghunathpur village, also under Neemdi Police Station.

All of them had gone to attend a wedding ceremony at Adabana village under Barabazar Police Station, returning from Chirugora village under Ichagarh Police Station when tragedy struck. As news of the incident spread, grief and mourning gripped Tilaitand village, where multiple families have been shattered by the loss. The police have sent the bodies for postmortem and have begun an investigation into the cause of the crash.