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Four from U.P. killed as Puri-bound bus overturns in Odisha
At least four people, one of whom was a woman, were killed and 23 others injured when a tourist bus from Uttar Pradesh met with an accident in Odisha’s Balasore district late Friday night
At least four people, one of whom was a woman, were killed and 23 others injured when a tourist bus from Uttar Pradesh met with an accident in Odisha’s Balasore district late Friday night.
The bus fell on its side near the Jaleswar bypass on National Highway-16 in the district that bordered West Bengal, police said, adding it rolled 20 feet down the road.
Police officials in Balasore said 57 tourists from Uttar Pradesh were on board the bus and were going to Puri to pray at the Jagannath temple there. The mishap left 23 people injured, of whom 17 were stated to be critical. While the critically injured were admitted to the district hospital there, others were taken to Jaleswar’s JK Bhattacharya Hospital.
Many of the passengers were said to be residents of Balrampur district in Uttar Pradesh. Balrampur district magistrate Agarwal Pawan Agarwal said the deceased were identified as Kamala Devi (55), a resident of Belhasa of Balrampur, Rajesh Kumar Mishra (48), a resident of Pipra in Balrampur, and Ram Prasad and Santram from Itwa in Siddharthnagar district.
Jaleswar sub-divisional police officer Dilip Sahoo said the exact reason behind the mishap wa yet to be determined. “We suspect the driver may have dozed off, causing the bus to overturn,” added Sahoo.
The bus left UP on September 18, visiting Bihar and Jharkhand before heading to Puri.
Meanwhile, the Balrampur district administration said it had begun the proceedings to bring back the bodies of the people killed. The DM said the administration was in constant touch with its Balasore’s counterpart, and efforts were being made to provide better treatment to the injured.
Meanwhile, MLA Rakesh Yadav (of the Samajwadi Party) from Gainsari met the families of the deceased and injured, and demanded that compensations of ₹10 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased and ₹2 lakh to each injured be given.
(With PTI inputs)
