Five persons were today killed and at least 50 others injured when an overcrowded bus, on way to a fair, overturned on NH 60 near Rampurhat in Birbhum district.
Two persons died on the spot as the vehicle turned turtle in an adjacent paddy field, police said, adding two others succumbed to their injuries at a hospital in Birbhum district.
At least 50 passengers, injured in the accident, were admitted to Rampurhat Hospital in Birbhum district from where 40 were referred to Baharampur State General Hospital in neighbouring Murshidabad district, police said.
One of the 40 injured later succumbed to his injuries, they said.
The bus was hired by a group from Nabagram in Murshidabad district to visit the famous Patharchapi rural fair near Suri.
"We visit the fair every year. But this time our joy ride turned into a nightmare. The bus was moving at a high speed and then suddenly over turned," one of the passengers said.