Bhubaneswar: At least 16 passengers were injured, some of them critically, when a Mo Bus fell into a roadside nullah along National Highway 16 near Pitapalli Chhak, on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, on Saturday.
While 10 among the injured passengers were discharged from Khurda district headquarters hospital (DHH), four were shifted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and two to Capital Hospital here. The injured include a child aged around seven to eight years. One person sustained critical injuries in the accident but his condition is stated to be stable now, sources said.
All medical expenses are being borne by Khurda district administration, which also thanked the locals who acted as first responders. Odisha Fire and Emergency Service personnel later reached the spot and launched a rescue operation.
The accident occurred when the bus driver steered to the extreme left of the road to avoid collision with an auto-rickshaw coming from the wrong side. “On preliminary inquiry, no skid was mark found on spot, mechanical conditions could not be examined as the bus front portion was drowned inside mud and water. It was ascertained from passengers that driver has steered to extreme left of the road to avoid collision with an auto-rickshaw coming from the wrong side and fell into the culvert,” additional RTO, Khurda, said.
Refuting reports that the bus staff fled the spot soon after the accident, Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT), which operates the service, said that the driver rescued 4 passengers and then called the supervisor, spoke to PCR and arranged for ambulance. “The driver followed the standard operating procedure and contacted them after the accident,” it added.
The bus, carrying 32 passengers, was en route to Khurda from Bhubaneswar.
