Hummingbird News Desk
BURDWAN, 28 DEC: A young helper of a lorry carrying coal was charred to death when the lorry caught fire after a collision with a stranded truck from behind on the NH – 19 at Galsi town crossing in East Burdwan in the early morning hours today.
Police said the deceased has been identified as Sheikh Sultan (19) of Chinpai in Birbhum. The reason behind the accident has not been ascertained yet but the preliminary investigation suggests that the dense fog might be the reason behind the mishap.
Two fire tenders were pressed into service but they faced difficulties in controlling the blazes as the fumes already had started burning the coal stock. The major portion of the lorry was burnt. The driver of the lorry though suffered injuries but he managed to flee the area, the police said.
According to the police, the lorry was carrying low-ash imported coal from Haldia dock yard to a steel unit operating in Kanksa block in West Burdwan. The mishap occurred at around 4:30 am today when the speeding coal laden lorry suddenly lost control and barged into the rear part of another lorry carrying paddy, said Partha Chakraborty – the security In-Charge of a rice mill located beside the spot on NH-19.
He said: “Before we could arrange people for rescue, the truck caught fire due to the intensity of the collision and the crew cabin first turned to an inferno.” The mill authority called up the police and the fire brigade.
Two fire tenders arrived shortly after but couldn’t rescue Sheikh Sultan (19) – the helper. Rakesh Chowdhury, DSP (Traffic), Burdwan said that the deceased hailed from Chinpai in Birbhum. He said that fog in the wee hours might be the reason behind the fatal road mishap.
Tags: #Burdwan #HelperBurntAlive #TruchCatchesFire
