At least 18 dead and several injured in an accident on a state highway at Haskhali, West Bengal

In a tragic road accident, at least 18 people died and several others were injured on a state highway at Haskhali in West Bengal’s Nadia district in the wee hours on Sunday. The family members were travelling to Nabadwip in Nadia district in a matador from North 24 Parganas district’s Bagda to perform the last rites of a deceased family member, when the accident took place.

At least ten members of the family of the deceased were killed in the accident after their vehicle hit a truck standing on the roadside at 2 am. Others included their neighbours and villagers. One person is critical and has been shifted to government-run NRS Hospital & Medical College in Kolkata. The incident happened when the overcrowded matador, carrying the body, lost control, and hit a stone-chip loaded truck standing on the road, a senior police official said.

In response to the tragic accident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “Extremely pained by the loss of lives due to a road accident in Nadia, West Bengal. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover at the earliest.”


Union Home Minister Amit Shah also expressed his condolences on the death of 18 persons in Nadia and prayed for the family members.

“Eighteen persons have died. The injured have been hospitalized. One was very critical and he has been referred to Kolkata. Around 30 passengers were accompanying the body of the deceased while they were heading towards Nabadwip in a matador when it lost control and hit the truck standing. The truck was standing on the roadside,” Superintendent of Police Ishani Paul said.

The family from Bagda in North 24 Parganas district was heading towards Nabadwip to the crematorium. “Nabadwip is a holy place and the deceased mother had expressed her last wish to get cremated in Nabadwip. Several family members and neighbours of the deceased were on their way to Nabadwip and died in the accident,” a neighbour said.

According to initial reports, 11 persons died on the spot while nine others were rushed to the district hospital at Shaktinagar in Nadia district. Seven persons succumbed to the injury in the hospital, taking the death toll to 18. Five others were injured and most of them are in critical condition, sources said