Balasore: Two persons died and more than 10 were injured when a bus crashed into a stationary truck on National Highway-16 in the Jaleswar area of Odisha’s Balasore district in the early hours of Wednesday.
According to sources, the accident took place at around 3 am near Lakshmannath toll gate when the bus, carrying more than 40 passengers, was en route to Kolkata from Narsinghpur in Dhenkanal district and slammed into the paddy-laden truck, which had broken down. The driver, Mir Abdul Rahim (39) from Salepur in Cuttack district, and the helper, Nrusingha Kathua (40) from Mahanga, died on the spot under the impact of the collision.
Fire Service teams immediately arrived at the scene and rescue the injured passengers, who were then admitted to Community Health Centre at Jaleswar. The injured included Parana Begum (25) and Gulhar Bibi (52) from Dhenkanal, Suresh Parida (29), Sanjeeb Sahu (30), and Manas Mohanty (25) from Bhadrak, Prabir Behera (30) from Kendrapada, and conductor Rudrajit Mahapatra (30) from Nimapada. Parana Begum and Gulhar Bibi were later shifted to Fakir Mohan Medical College and Hospital in Balasore as their condition deteriorated.
Those seated near the driver’s cabin sustained critical injuries as the front section of bus was completely mangled in the accident, the sources added.