Chaibasa/Champua: Tragedy struck a family from Sijukala village in the West Singhbhum district’s Jaintgarh police station area on Wednesday night. A Mahindra Thar, carrying a family member suffering from severe stomach pain to Champua Hospital in Odisha for treatment, met with a horrific accident on National Highway-20. The speeding vehicle went out of control and collided with a roadside mango tree. The impact was so severe that three family members lost their lives, while their son sustained critical injuries.
According to reports, Trilochan Apat, a resident of Sijukala village, complained of sudden, severe stomach pain on Wednesday night. As his condition deteriorated, his son Ranjit Apat, wife Koiphulo Apat, and uncle Bhaskar Apat were taking him to Champua Hospital in Odisha by car. Around 10 PM, while the vehicle was passing near Rajiya in the Champua police station area on National Highway-20, the driver lost control, and the car rammed into a roadside mango tree at high speed.
The collision was so violent that the front of the car was completely mangled, and all the occupants sustained serious injuries. Upon receiving news of the incident, locals and the police rushed to the scene, and the injured were immediately taken to the hospital.
Given their critical condition, the injured were referred to Keonjhar District Hospital for advanced treatment. However, Trilochan Apat and his wife Koiphulo Apat succumbed to their injuries while being transported. Bhaskar Apat had already died immediately after the accident. Meanwhile, Ranjit Apat is undergoing treatment, and his condition is reported to be critical.
Traffic on National Highway-20 was disrupted for some time following the accident. The police cleared the damaged vehicle from the road and restored normal traffic flow. Preliminary investigations suggest that speeding and loss of control over the vehicle caused the accident; however, the police are examining all aspects of the incident.
The deaths of three members of the same family have cast a pall of gloom over the Jaintgarh area, and the village is in mourning.
