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Raipur/Bemetara, Nov 24 (IANS) Three laborers from West Bengal were killed and two others were seriously injured when an unidentified truck hit a loading pickup vehicle near Karesara village on the Bemetara-Kabirdham road on Monday.
According to Bemetara City Kotwali police officials, the victims were employees of a private company in Bemetara.
They had gone to Kabirdham district on Monday for flower-related work and were returning in the pickup when the accident occurred around 3 pm.
Police officials said that the speeding truck coming from the opposite direction hit the small vehicle with such force that the three people traveling in it died instantly.
The collision damaged the pickup and scattered flower baskets on the highway.
The deceased have been identified as Pankaj Rajput (35), Gopal Singh (35) and Prashant Dhara (25), residents of West Medinipur district of West Bengal.
Both the injured have been identified as Ajay Vishwakarma (22), a local resident of Vidyanagar in Bemetara, and Shubhashish Chakraborty (42) of Darra in West Medinipur – who were taken to the district hospital.
Doctors have described his condition as serious but stable.
Eyewitnesses said that immediately after the collision, the truck driver fled from the spot leaving the damaged vehicle behind.
Angry villagers blocked the road for more than an hour demanding immediate arrest of the absconding driver.
The police reached the spot, pacified the angry villagers and got the traffic jam cleared.
The bodies of the victims were sent for post-mortem.
A case has been registered against the unidentified truck driver under various sections including causing death by negligence.
CCTV footage of nearby shops and toll plazas is being examined to trace the attacking vehicle.
Financial assistance has been announced for the families of the deceased from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
Road accidents involving overloaded mini trucks and pickups carrying migrant workers have become frequent on this stretch, prompting local residents to again demand stricter enforcement and speed breakers.
–IANS
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