Purulia: Nine people returning from a wedding were killed on the Dhanbad-Jamshedpur stretch of NH18 on Friday morning when their vehicle collided with a truck. All the victims, including two brothers, were from Jharkhand.The nine had taken an SUV from Jharkhand's Nimdih village, in Seraikela-Kharsawan district, to attend a wedding in Purulia's Adabana village on Thursday. On Friday, they were headed home when, around 6.30am, their Bolero collided head-on with a truck coming from the opposite direction at a curve. The Bolero crumpled while the truck overturned on the roadside.According to witnesses, the impact was such that the front of the SUV completely caved in, trapping passengers inside.

Villagers rushed to the spot and began getting them out. A large police contingent soon arrived and joined in the efforts.Balrampur police transported the nine to Banshgar Rural Health Centre, where doctors declared all of them dead on arrival.Identification of the victims was a challenge initially, but an Aadhaar card found on one of the deceased led police to contact Nimdih police station in Jharkhand. Relatives were informed and arrived at the health centre.

The deceased were identified as Krishnapada Mahato (36), Bijoy Mahato (48), Ajay Mahato (42), Chittaranjan Mahato (24), Chandra Mohan Mahato (50), Gurupada Mahato (31), Shounak Sekhar Mahato (30), Swapan Mahato (27) and Brihaspati Mahato (45). Ajay and Bijoy were brothers. The bodies were sent for autopsy to Deben Mahata Government Medical College & Hospital.Authorities, including Purulia SP Abhijit Bandopadhyay, visited the scene of the accident as well as the hospital. The SP said an investigation was underway and witness statements were being recorded. Police seized the truck; the driver and the helper, however, are on the run.There was temporary congestion on the NH following the accident. Traffic flow soon became normal after the damaged SUV was removed by cops.