6 killed, 17 injured as van falls into canal in Bengal

Six people have died and 17 are reportedly injured when a pickup van fell into a roadside canal in Baruipur, south Bengal, yesterday night.

The police report said that the incident took place a few minutes before midnight at Bakultala around 60km south of Kolkata. The van was heading towards Kolkata. Sources said that the victims were mason who was travelling to Kolkata for work purposes.

The driver lost control of the vehicle and it first hit a lamp post and then a tree, before falling into a roadside canal. Local people started the rescue operation and rushed them to the hospital. Later, police reached the spot and rushed the victims to hospitals.

Police have further said, “Six persons were killed while 17 were injured. The injured persons have been admitted to two hospitals in South 24 Parganas and Kolkata. Condition of two to three of the injured victims is critical,”

Police have already started their investigation. Police are trying to find out whether the driver was speeding, or the vehicle developed some technical snag that could have led to the accident.