car accident
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At least eight people lost their lives while one was injured when a car rammed into a truck in the Burdwan district of West Bengal on Sunday morning. The car was returning from the Patharchapuri fair in Birbhum district when the accident happened at the Panagarh-Moregram state highway in the district's Kanksa area.

Seven people died on the spot while two injured had been taken to the Durgapur Mahakuma Hospital in a critical condition. One of the injured got discharged after receiving treatment but the other one succumbed to his injuries. The deceased have not been identified yet but reports sugest that they hailed from Samudragarh in Burdwan district.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the accident might have happened when the car attempted to overtake the truck as another truck came from the other direction and the four-wheeler and the truck collided head-on. "It seems both the vehicles were running at 80-100 km/ hr. The four-wheeler was completely mangled," an officer at Kanksa police station was quoted by the Hindustan Times as saying.

The police has launched an investigation into the accident even as the driver of the truck escaped the spot and is absconding.