Tura May 9: It was meant to have been a day of celebration and outing by the riverside but sadly turned into tragedy when a group of men coming back from a picnic in North Garo Hills met with an accident on monday afternoon in which two elderly gentlemen lost their lives and 25 others sustained injuries.

The 30 odd group of men belonging to the Shilluk Church in Dudhnoi, Assam, had crossed into Kharkutta region in North Garo Hills to have a picnic in a well known picnic spot called Rongma Gittil.

They were coming back in their hired Mahindra pik up vehicle AS18 C 6592 and the driver was said to be speeding when it lost control due to a suspected brake failure. The vehicle turned on its side by a corner of the road flinging the occupants standing in the back out across the road.

Two of the victims, both elderly, died on the spot while another five were critically injured and shifted to Goalpara hospital in assam.

The two men who lost their lives were Bukath K Sangma (61 years) and Hejalson G Momin (68 years), both from Upper Shilluk, under Dudhnoi Police station, Goalpara district of Assam.