Brahmapur: Two persons, including a woman, were killed and nine others were injured in a major chain collision involving a truck, a car, several two-wheelers and a bicycle at Chamakhandi Square on National Highway near Chatrapur in Odisha’s Ganjam district on Wednesday evening.
The mishap occurred near Chamakhandi Chhak under Chamakhandi police limits.
According to eyewitnesses, a white car allegedly changed lanes suddenly at the busy junction, causing the truck driver to lose control and ram into the vehicle. Both then veered off the road, crushing multiple motorcycles, a scooter and a bicycle in the process and triggering a series of collisions.
One of the deceased has been identified as Rosalin Mishra of Brahmapur, who worked as a clerk at the District Treasury Office in Chhatrapur. The identity of the second victim could not be established immediately.
Local residents rushed the injured to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Brahmapur for treatment.
The accident sparked widespread public anger. Locals immediately staged a road blockade, stranding hundreds of vehicles on both sides of the highway and bringing traffic to a complete standstill. The blockade was lifted after several hours following the arrival of Chhatrapur MLA Krushna Chandra Nayak, Ganjam SP Harish Bishi and other senior police officials, who intervened to restore the traffic movement through a single lane.
Protesters demanded better medical care for the injured as well as permanent safety measures at the accident-prone stretch, including construction of an overbridge, regular deployment of police personnel and installation of barricades.
This comes a day after an SUV went on a rampage, ramming into multiple two-wheelers in front of a private hospital at Ghatikia in Bhubaneswar, leaving a man dead and three others injured.