Jagatsinghpur: At least 40 people were injured, five of them critically, as a bus carrying a marriage party fell off a bridge in Balikuda area of Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district.
As per preliminary information, the mishap took place near Sobha petrol pump on the Tihudi Naharana main road under the jurisdiction of Balikuda police station in the wee hours of Monday.
Sources said the private bus was returning with guests after a wedding ceremony from Budhisahi. More than 40 people, including six women and four children, sustained injuries as the bus overturned after falling off the bridge.
The injured were rescued by police and fire services personnel and immediately sent to hospitals at Balikuda and Jagatsinghpur. Three of them were later shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack as their condition deteriorated.
While the exact cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained, the occupants of the bus claimed that the driver was under the influence of liquor. Police have launched an investigation.
