LUCKNOW: Four persons were killed and two others sustained critical injuries after a speeding car rammed into a combine harvester on the Bahraich-Nanpara road in the wee hours of Monday in Bahraich district.The accident took place near Digwa petrol pump under Matera police station limits, around 30 kilometres from the district headquarters. According to police, the combine harvester was stationed along the roadside and had suddenly started turning towards the road when the car coming from the opposite direction crashed into it head-on.The impact of the collision was so severe that the car was thrown nearly six feet away and overturned into roadside bushes. The front portion of the vehicle was completely mangled, its roof was ripped off, and the seven-foot-long car was crushed to nearly four feet in length. The driver reportedly suffered a severe jaw injury.Police said six friends from Bahraich were travelling in the Tata Punch from Nanpara towards Bahraich when the accident occurred at around 12.40 am. Locals rushed to the spot after hearing the loud crash, while the combine driver abandoned the vehicle and fled.A rescue operation lasting nearly half an hour was carried out by police teams led by Superintendent of Police Vishwajeet Srivastava, SP Rural Durga Prasad Tiwari, and Matera SHO Harikesh Singh. Officers had to struggle to pull out the trapped occupants from the wreckage, which was filled with blood.Four occupants died on the spot and were identified as Ashwani Srivastava, Altaf Ahmad, Anil Kumar, and Mahendra. The injured, identified as Vikas Srivastava and Shivam Srivastava, were initially taken to Nanpara Community Health Centre before being referred to the district hospital due to their critical condition.Police personnel themselves shifted the bodies to the mortuary and ensured the injured were rushed to hospital.SP Vishwajeet Srivastava said preliminary investigation suggested that the collision with the combine harvester caused the accident. He said further investigation was underway and legal action would be taken accordingly. SHO Harikesh Singh said efforts were on to trace the absconding combine driver and necessary legal proceedings had been initiated.
