Doomdooma: Five tea garden workers were injured, two critically, following a head-on collision between an ambulance and a Mahindra Bolero at Samdang Bypass in Assam’s Tinsukia district on Friday afternoon.
The ambulance was transporting five patients from Khowang Tea Estate to Tinsukia Medical College and Hospital when a speeding Bolero, travelling from Digboi, reportedly struck it.
The victims have been identified as Dhaneshwar Nayak, Binod Prasad, Sunil Nayak, Somari Nayak, and Babul Kisan. While two remain in a critical condition, the others are being treated for varying degrees of injuries.
The impact caused severe damage to both vehicles. Local residents rushed to assist with rescue operations before emergency services arrived at the scene. Doomdooma Police and Co-District Superintendent of Police Diganta Dutta later arrived to oversee the rescue.
The incident has sparked public anger, with locals highlighting a rise in accidents on the bypass due to reckless driving and inadequate safety measures. Representatives from the Assam Tea Tribes Students' Association (ATTSA) have threatened protests if immediate safety protocols are not implemented.
Police have arrested the Bolero driver and launched a formal investigation into the crash.