Rourkela: Two persons died and as many were critically injured when a speeding train crashed into motorcycles crossing the tracks at Kalunga railway gate in Odisha’s Rourkela on Tuesday night.
One of the deceased has been identified as Pankaj Sharma from Himachal Pradesh. The other was reportedly from Jareikela but his identity is yet to be ascertained. The critically injured are undergoing treatment at Rourkela Government Hospital and their condition is stated to be stable.
According to sources, the accident took place around 10 pm when five persons were returning on three bikes from Vedvyas after shopping and attempted to cross the tracks by ducking under the barriers though the level crossing gate at Kalunga was closed.
Visuals from the site show mangled remains of two motorcycles. Two of the victims were thrown to a distance under the impact of the collision.
On being informed, Government Railway Police rushed to the spot and took the injured to hospital. The bodies have been sent to RGH for postmortem.