3 Dead As Milk Truck Plows Through Mela Ground In Sikkim

Three people were killed at a mela in Sikkim's Ranipool - 11 km from Gangtok - as a truck lost control and plowed through the crowd. The incident happened a little after 7 pm this evening when hundreds had gathered at the mela ground.

The milk truck coming from uphill Gangtok went straight into the crowd at the mela being held at a truck terminal for over a month now. It first hit three taxis parked outside the venue, dragging them towards the crowd.

Among the three dead, one is a woman in her mid 20s while the others are men in their mid-30s. The identities of the woman and a man are yet to be known. The other man was an off-duty police officer.

Twenty people were rushed to the Central Referral Hospital in Tadong. Among the injured, the youngest is an 11-year-old boy and the oldest is a 60-year-old man.

The driver, in his mid-20s, was not injured and has been taken into custody. He was not driving under the influence of alcohol, initial reports said.

The vehicle has the bearing of Sikkim Milk Union and no other ownership of the truck is known so far, the police said.