Bus-bike crash kills 3 of family in East Midnapore

Haldia: Three members of a family died and four others were critically injured in a motorcycle-bike collision on the Balughata-Chaitanyapur state highway in East Midnapore on Saturday morning. The deceased have been identified as Arup Mondal (52), his wife Pratima (45) and their 13-year-old daughter Sujita.The family resided in Krishnanagar village under Sutahata police station limits and was going towards Brajalalchak on a motorcycle. Eyewitnesses and police sources said the accident happened at around 10.45am near Ghosher More. The Kukrahati-bound bus was coming from the opposite direction at high speed. "The motorcycle appeared to lose control and veered on the wrong side of the road. The bus driver, unable to manoeuvre in time, rammed into the bike before crashing into railings flanking the highway," a police officer said.
Srikrishna Adhikari, a local who was among first responders, said, "The sound of the crash was deafening. We found the family lying in a pool of blood. The bus driver was pinned behind the steering wheel as the front cabin collapsed. We had to call in a crane to pry the metal apart and rescue him."The three members of the family were declared dead on arrival at a hospital. Several passengers travelling on the bus were injured and at least four of them are "extremely critical".Police have seized the bus and initiated a probe. Traffic on the state highway was disrupted for nearly two hours.