Jajpur: Two persons died while eight others sustained critical injuries when the autorickshaw in which they were travelling to Puri was hit by a truck on National Highway 16 near Panikoili in Odisha’s Jajpur district in the early hours of Tuesday.
The deceased have been identified as Shivendra Mohapatra (11) and Puja Sahu (20) of Patna Sahi in Sahapada area of Bhadrak.
According to sources, the accident took place when 10 members of three families were heading towards Puri in the ill-fated three-wheeler to visit Jagannath Temple. The impact of the collision was so severe that the passengers were thrown off the autorickshaw.
They were rushed to Jajpur districts headquarters hospital by the highway patrolling team. While doctors there declared Shivendra and Puja as dead, two others were shifted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack as their condition deteriorated.
Police have sent the bodies for postmortem and started an investigation.
