According to reports, the driver of the van lost control and collided the vehicle with the minibus that was coming from the opposite direction. Soon after the collision, the two vehicles caught fire. Seven of the 11 people traveling in the van died on the spot while the remaining four were admitted to the Alipurduar hospital in critical conditions. They later died in the hospital.

The bus was ferrying polling personnel from Jalpaiguri to Alipurduar, while the occupants of the car were on their way to Madarihat. There were two children and four women among those killed in the accident.

According to eyewitnesses, after the collision, the passengers of the bus quickly disembarked from the vehicle. But the people inside the car got trapped. A fire tender was pressed into service to douse the flames.