Five of West Bengal family killed in accident on Sikkim trip

GANGTOK/HOOGHLY: Five tourists from Bengal died when the taxi they were travelling in fell around 400m into a gorge in the 7th Mile area along Gangtok-Nathu La Road in Sikkim. The group included a family of seven — four from Shyambazar and three from Hooghly’s Haripal — and another from Hooghly, along with a resident of Sikkim.

A phone call at the break of dawn on Monday informed Dilip Bose in Haripal’s Bandipur of the death of five family members in Sikkim on Sunday.Speaking a mix of Hindi and Bengali, the caller said he was from Sikkim and informed Bose that Sandip and Soma Kar, Soma’s uncle Snehashish Bose, his wife Kakoli and their son Subhrajit had been killed in an accident. Bose was asked to visit Gangtok to identify the bodies. The caller also informed him that two others of the group, Sandip and Soma’s daughter Souma and son Surjyas, were fighting for their lives in a hospital.
Later in the day, Bose called up the Kars’ residence in Shyambazar to convey the news.
“I was shocked and I called my relatives in Shyambazar. Some of our kin have already left for Sikkim,” Bose said.
While Snehashis, Kakoli and Subhrajit were from Hooghly’s Haripal, their relatives Soma and Sandip lived in Shyambazar. Among the victims, Subhrajit succumbed at Gangtok’s STNM Hospital while the others died at the accident spot. Two others who were injured included Mahua Patra from Hooghly and a local who is yet to be identified.
A case was registered against the taxi driver, Suresh Tamang, who escaped unhurt. Police are investigating what led to the accident.