Kolkata, Oct 19 — Two young men lost their lives on the spot in a head-on collision between a bike and a scooter on the old bridge at Jhongkar crossing in north Bengal's Siliguri on Monday.
Both the vehicles were severely mangled in the accident.
Another young man on the scooter was seriously injured due to the intensity of the incident and is currently fighting for his life in the ICU of a private hospital.
This untimely death in the festive atmosphere has cast a shadow of deep grief over the city.
According to the locals, one of the deceased is Arijit Pramanik, a resident of Goyerkata. He had come to visit a relative's house in Siliguri on the occasion of Durga Puja.
On Monday, he was riding his bike towards Jhongkar crossing from the direction of Air View crossing, while Shankar Singh, a 17-year-old resident of Ward No. 3 of Siliguri Municipal Corporation, and a friend of his were returning home on a scooter from the opposite direction.
The speed of the two vehicles on the old bridge at Jhongkar intersection was so high that it was impossible to avoid a head-on collision. Due to the intensity of the collision, Arijit and Shankar died on the spot.
The police of Khalpara outpost reached the accident site within a moment after receiving the news of the incident. They rescued Shankar's friend in a critical condition and admitted him to a private hospital in Matigara, where his physical condition is said to be very critical.
On the other hand, the police recovered the two bodies and first sent them to the Siliguri District Hospital and later shifted them to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital for autopsy.
The initial assumption of the police is that the two vehicles lost control due to excessive speed on the empty road in the early morning, which led to this tragic outcome.
However, the police have started a detailed investigation into the entire incident to find out if there was any other reason behind the accident.
This is the first major fatal accident in Siliguri during the ongoing Durga Puja festival. The families of the two young men and residents are shocked by such a heart-breaking incident on the auspicious morning of Ashtami.