Raipur/Bemetara, Nov 24 Three labourers from West Bengal were killed and two others seriously injured when an unidentified truck rammed into a loading pick-up vehicle, they were travelling in near Karesara village on the Bemetara-Kabirdham road on Monday.
According to Bemetara City Kotwali police officials, the victims were employees of a private firm in Bemetara.
They had gone to Kabirdham district earlier on Monday for flower-related work and were returning in the pickup when the tragedy struck around 3 p.m.
A speeding truck coming from the opposite direction hit the smaller vehicle head-on with such force that three occupants died instantly, the police officials said.
The impact mangled the pickup and scattered flower baskets across the highway.
The deceased have been identified as Pankaj Rajput (35), Gopal Singh (35), and Prashanta Dhara (25), all the residents of West Medinipur district of West Bengal.
The two injured have been identified as Ajay Vishwakarma (22), a local resident of Vidyanagar in Bemetara, and Shubhashish Chakraborty (42) from Darra in West Medinipur -- were rushed to the district hospital.
Doctors described their condition as critical but stable.
Eyewitnesses said the truck driver fled the spot immediately after the collision, leaving the damaged vehicle behind.
Angry villagers blocked the road for more than an hour, demanding immediate arrest of the absconding driver.
Police reached the spot, pacified the enraged villagers and cleared the blockade.
The bodies of the victims were sent for post-mortem.
A case under various sections, including causing death by negligence, has been registered against the unknown truck driver.
The CCTV footage from nearby shops and toll plazas is being examined to trace the offending vehicle.
Financial assistance from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund has been announced for the kin of the deceased.
Road accidents involving overloaded mini-trucks and pickups carrying migrant workers have become frequent on this stretch, prompting local residents to renew demands for stricter enforcement and speed breakers.
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