Five people were killed and at least 40 were injured after a passenger bus fell off a bridge in Odisha’s Jajpur on Monday night. The accident took place at around 9 pm on Barabati Bridge on National Highway-16 when the bus was on its way to West Bengal from Puri.
The bus was carrying about 47 passengers out of which 40 people were injured. The inspector in charge of Dharamshala Police Station said, “Four men and a woman have died in the accident. Around 40 people were injured, and they were taken to Cuttack SCB Medical College.”
According to reports, the driver lost control which led to this accident. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed sorrow for the lives lost and announced compensation of Rs 3 lakh for each family of the deceased.
Transport Commissioner Amitav Thakur revealed that the bus was on its way to Haldia in West Bengal. He mentioned the deployment of medical teams to aid the injured, who were transported to Cuttack via 16 ambulances. He said, “The rescue operation has ended as the bus was lifted with a crane.”
Nikhil Pavan Kalyan, the Collector and District Magistrate of Jajpur stated that gas cutters were utilized to rescue passengers trapped in the bus.
Superintendent of Police Vinit Agrawal stated that the identities of the deceased are yet to be confirmed, noting that most of the passengers were from West Bengal.
(With PTI inputs)