6 Kumbh pilgrims from Bengal killed in Dhanbad

Ranchi/Kharagpur/Hooghly: Six people travelling to Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj from Bengal died in a road accident near Dhanbad in the early hours of Saturday. Two more have been hospitalised and are in a critical condition, sources said. Police said the SUV in which 11 persons were travelling rammed a stationary truck around 1.15 am on NH-19 near Daludih in Dhanbad. Another SUV then hit the accident vehicle from behind. The Saha family had rented a vehicle from Hooghly and began their journey with relatives from Garbeta at 10 pm on Friday. The high-speed accident happened just over three hours later. All that remained of the SUV — a Scorpio in which they were travelling — was mangled steel. Rescue workers had a tough time extricating the dead and injured from the vehicle. According to Rajganj PS in-charge Alisha Kumari, Shiekh Rajabali (driver) (42), Piyali Saha (29), Shyamali Saha (34) and Pranab Saha (42) died on the spot. Two others, Annesha Saha (4) and Agamani Saha (4), succumbed to their injuries at hospital. Among the injured, Bishwaroop Saha and Sudip Saha remain critical, while Nita Saha, Sayan Saha and Rahul Saha are reported to be stable. Other than the driver from Hooghly, all other victims are relatives. While some hail from Garbeta, others are from Goghat.CM Mamata Banerjee wrote on X: "My condolences to the families of the six from our state, who died today in a road accident in Jharkhand on way to Mahakumbh. I have instructed our administration to help the distressed families in bringing back the bodies and in providing medical and other support to the survivors."
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