Odisha witnessed a tragic Saturday as five people lost their lives and 31 others were injured in separate road mishaps across the state, according to police reports.
In Bhubaneswar, a devastating collision on National Highway-16 claimed three lives and left one person injured on Saturday evening. A truck reportedly rammed into two motorcycles and a scooter while traveling through Bhubaneswar, the police said.
The incident occurred on the Fire Station Chhak overbridge as four persons – two youths on one bike, an elderly man on another bike, and a woman on a scooter – were traveling from Saheed Nagar toward Khandagiri.
Police said that three of the victims died on the spot, while the elderly man was rushed to a hospital in critical condition for treatment. Authorities said the horrific nature of the crash, stating the impact was severe enough to cause gruesome fatal injuries to the female rider.
The truck driver responsible for the pile-up fled the scene immediately and remains at large. As of the latest reports, police are still working to confirm the identities of the deceased.
Following the collision, a massive traffic gridlock paralysed NH-16, a vital artery connecting Kolkata and Chennai, for several hours.
Earlier on the day, police reported that two other fatalities and nearly 30 injuries had occurred across Ganjam, Mayurbhanj, and Sundargarh districts within a 24-hour window.
In Ganjam district, a head-on collision took place early Saturday morning near Bali Dhaba on the Kodala-Khalikote Road. A bus transporting approximately 30 pilgrims from Polasara to Puri crashed into a truck.
The driver of the truck was killed in the impact, and 15 passengers on the bus sustained various injuries.
“The injured were shifted to Kodala hospital and two of them were later referred to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur,” a police officer said.
In Mayurbhanj district, a separate accident on National Highway-18 involved an SUV carrying wedding guests. The vehicle overturned near Nandasol Chhak under the Betanati police station limits after a collision with a truck.
A total of 13 people were injured in the Mayurbhanj crash and were subsequently admitted to PRM Medical College and Hospital in Baripada for treatment.
In Sundergarh district, a motorcyclist was killed on the spot, while two others were sustain serious injuries in an accident near Ghoghar Bundel jungle within Talsara police station limits on Friday night. The trio was on its way to attend a wedding party, police said.
