In a shocking road accident, six people died on the spot when the Mahindra Bolero vehicle they were travelling in was crushed by a lorry carrying cement in Ri-Bhoi today.
The incident occurred at around 2:30pm at Umbang Sumer on National Highway 6.
The six who lost their lives in the horrifying incident were a priest, three nuns and a teacher from the Bongaigaon diocese in Assam who were on their way to Shillong, along with their driver.
The priest was identified as Fr Mathew Das, the parish priest and Principal of St John’s Higher Secondary School in Barama. The nuns were named as Sr Melagrine Dantes, Sr Promila Tirkey and Sr Rossie Nongrum of the Fatima Sisters Congregation. The teacher was identified as Mairan (one name only) and the driver was unnamed.
The bodies were taken to Nongpoh Civil Hospital for autopsies, the Bishop of Bongaigaon, Thomas Pulloppillil, said in a letter.
On reaching Umbang Sumer, the vehicle (AS 26 B 7908) they were travelling in was hit by the West Bengal-registered truck (WB 41 G 7628).
Police believe that the truck had been speeding at the time. The driver lost control and the truck jumped the divider and hit the Bolero that was coming from the opposite direction. Both vehicles were thrown towards the side of the road and completely mangled in the accident.
Locals attempted to rescue people from the Bolero and Ri-Bhoi police rushed to the spot to join in but their efforts were in vain.
The Assam Christian Forum expressed its deep pain at the loss of innocent lives “due to reckless driving”. The forum also asked the Meghalaya government to thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident and compensate the victims’ families.
