Bhubaneswar: A bus, carrying dozens of passengers, veered off a bypass road and overturned in Odisha’s Nayagarh district during the early hours of Tuesday, leaving around 40 people injured, with three in critical condition.
According to sources, the mishap took place around 2 am when the bus was en route from Daringbadi to Bhubaneswar. While negotiating the bypass road near Badapandusar under Itamati police limits, the driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle, which then crashed through the roadside safety guard wall and overturned in an adjoining agricultural field. Panic ensued inside the darkened cabin as several passengers found themselves momentarily trapped. Many of the occupants managed to escape by crawling out through the broken front windshield.
Local residents alongside fire brigade teams soon reached the scene. All injured passengers, including the bus driver, were pulled out and rushed to the Nayagarh District Headquarters Hospital for treatment. Due to severe injuries, three individuals in critical condition were subsequently transferred to Bhubaneswar.
The driver claimed that he lost control over vehicle after being momentarily blinded by the high-beam headlights of an oncoming motorcycle. However, several surviving passengers claimed that high-speed and reckless driving were primary factors leading to the crash.
Itamati Police have launched an investigation to determine the exact circumstances surrounding the accident.
