Five people were killed after a Maruti Suzuki Eeco van collided head-on with a truck on National Highway 15 in Assam’s Sonitpur district late Friday night, police said on Saturday. The accident occurred in the Balipara area at around 11:30 pm, leaving all five occupants of the van critically injured. Police said the truck driver fled the scene and has not yet been traced.

According to Sonitpur Senior Superintendent of Police Barun Purkayastha, a police team reached the accident site after receiving information about the collision. Officers found five men in critical condition inside or near the damaged vehicle and immediately shifted them to a nearby government hospital for treatment.

Two of the injured men were declared dead on arrival at the hospital, while the remaining three succumbed to their injuries during treatment, police said. The deceased were identified as Harobinda Hazoary, 38, Pranjal Bania, 39, Sanjay Mech, 39, Papu Borah, 45, and Nayan Swargiary, 45. All five were residents of Batabari, according to police. They were travelling together in the Eeco van from Tezpur town towards Rangapara when the accident took place. The truck was travelling in the opposite direction when the two vehicles collided on the highway.

The force of the impact left the five men critically injured, prompting the immediate response from police and emergency personnel. The sequence of events leading to the collision is being examined by investigators. Police have not yet provided details on whether speeding, a mechanical failure, visibility conditions or any other factor contributed to the crash. The truck driver’s disappearance has also become part of the ongoing investigation, with authorities working to trace the vehicle and identify the person who was driving it. The accident occurred on NH-15, an important highway passing through Assam, and brought emergency services to the Balipara area late at night.

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Police officers reached the location after the incident was reported and began the process of rescuing the injured and moving them to hospital. The deaths of all five occupants have since been confirmed, turning the late-night collision into a major road accident in the district. Authorities are continuing their efforts to establish the circumstances of the crash and locate the truck driver. Police are expected to examine the vehicles and other available evidence as part of the investigation. The identities of the victims have been confirmed and their families informed, according to the information provided by police.

Further details about the accident, including the condition of the vehicles and the circumstances in which the collision occurred, are expected to emerge as the investigation progresses. The crash has once again highlighted the risks faced by motorists travelling on highways at night, although investigators have not yet attributed the accident to any specific cause.

For now, police are focused on determining how the Eeco and truck collided and tracing the driver of the truck. The five victims, all residents of Batabari, had been travelling from Tezpur towards Rangapara when their journey ended in the fatal collision at Balipara late Friday night.

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