Jagatsinghpur: At least 17 kanwariyas, including six women, were injured when a van carrying them crashed into a shrine at a village in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district on Monday.
According to sources, the mishap took place near Kotakana Chhak on Cuttack-Paradip road in the district when the devotees were returning after offering holy water at a Shiva shrine on Shravan Monday.
The pickup van was returning towards Kujang area after the kanwariyas offered water at a shrine in Nayagad when the driver allegedly lost control over the vehicle near Kotakana Chhak.
The vehicle subsequently collided with the ‘hundi’ (donation box) associated with Baba Gorekhnath shrine, causing grievous injuries to the passengers.
Fire service personnel and local residents rushed to the spot and rescued the injured. All 17 injured persons were taken to the Manijanga Community Health Centre (CHC) for treatment. The condition of five devotees was stated to be cricical.