5 Dead As Kolkata-Bound Bus Falls Off Bridge In Odisha’s Jajpur; CM Announces Rs 3L Ex-Gratia

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday announced an ex-gratia of Rs 3 lakh each for the kin of the five persons, who died after a Kolkata-bound Bus fell off a bridge on NH-16 near Barabati Chhak in Odisha’s Jajpur.

The CM has also directed the district administration to make proper arrangements for treatment of the injured and wished them speedy recovery.

According to sources, the accident took place around 9 pm when the bus, carrying nearly 50 passengers, was en route to Kolkata from Puri. Gas cutters had to be used by Fire Service personnel and police to cut the mangled remains of the bus and rescue the passengers, who were then rushed in ambulances to the community health centre at Dharmasala.

Jajpur Collector and SP were also present at the site during the rescue operation in which cranes were also pressed into service.

The critically injured were later shifted to the district headquarters hospital. “Thirty among them are being taken to Cuttack SCB Medical College,” said Dharamshala police station IIC Tapan Kumar Naik.

Confirming the death figure, Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) Debasish Moharana said that two passengers died on the spot while three others succumbed at the hospital. The deceased include four men and a woman.