Five Killed as Van Collides Head-On With Truck on NH-15 in Assam's Sonitpur

Five men were killed when a Maruti Suzuki Eeco van collided head-on with a truck on National Highway 15 at Balipara in Assam's Sonitpur district late on Friday night.

According to police, the accident took place around 11.30 pm. The Eeco was travelling from Tezpur towards Rangapara when it struck the truck, which was coming from the opposite direction.

Investigators suspect the van's driver lost control of the vehicle before it veered into the opposite lane. They are also examining whether excessive speed contributed to the crash.

The deceased have been identified as Har Gobinda Hajuwari, Pranjal Bania, Sanjay Mech, Pappu Bora and Nayan Swargiary. All five were residents of Batabari, which falls under Rangapara police station.

Two of the men died at the scene, while the remaining three died of their injuries after being taken to a nearby government hospital.

The truck driver was not present at the site after the collision, and police have begun efforts to trace him.

Both vehicles — the truck, bearing registration number AR04A2696, and the Eeco, registered as AS12AP6300 — have been seized. The bodies have been sent for postmortem examination.

Police also recovered several bottles of alcohol from the Eeco and are looking into the circumstances that led up to the collision.