Ranchi, Sep 26 (IANS) In two separate road accidents within 12 hours in Jharkhand, six people lost their lives and seven others were injured, police said on Friday.

The first incident occurred on Friday afternoon near the Badkitand turn in the Taratand police station area on the Giridih-Tundi main road.

A speeding truck collided head-on with a pickup van, causing the van to overturn by the roadside. The collision killed three passengers instantly.

The deceased have been identified as Nand Kishore (47), Kamal (38), and Jagdish Bhokta (45). Seven others sustained serious injuries, of whom two were later referred to Shahid Nirmal Mahto Medical College in Dhanbad for further treatment.

Police officials, including SDPO Jeetwahan Oraon, reached the spot soon after the accident. With the help of local residents, the injured were rescued and shifted to hospitals.

According to preliminary information, most of the pickup van passengers were migrant labourers from Bengabad in Giridih, employed in Hazaribagh. They were returning home to celebrate the Durga Puja holidays with their families.

Earlier, late Thursday night, another fatal accident was reported near Jharia turn on NH-18 in the Baharagora police station area of East Singhbhum district.

In this case, a Maruti Swift car travelling from Kolkata to Jamshedpur was rammed from behind by a speeding truck. The impact was so powerful that the car was completely mangled, killing all three occupants on the spot.

The deceased were identified as Ganesh Rai (50), the driver of the car; Kusumita Patnaik (55), a resident of Jamshedpur; and her daughter Monica Patnaik (28).

The family had travelled to Kolkata for personal work and was returning home to Jamshedpur when the tragedy struck.

The bodies were handed over to the relatives after post-mortem examinations at a government hospital on Friday afternoon.

–IANS

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