5 killed as car carrying wedding guests plunges into pond in Odisha’s Dhenkanal

The vehicle overturned and fell into the pond after the driver is believed to have lost control on a curved stretch of the road.

Published on: Jul 23, 2026, 10:36:39 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Five people were killed and two others rescued after a car carrying wedding guests plunged into a pond in Odisha’s Dhenkanal around 2:30am on Thursday.

The car carrying seven young men was part of a wedding party travelling from Bangurisingh to Indipur. The vehicle overturned and fell into the pond after the driver is believed to have lost control on a curved stretch of the road. .

Residents, police and emergency responders pulled out two people alive. The five people killed were identified as Sri Ram Sahu, 25, Avinash Sahu, 28, Rakesh Kumar Sahu, 25, Chandrakanta Swain, 27, and Abhijit Sahu, 25, residents of Bangurisingh and Dhenkanal.

Prakash Chandra Barik, a resident who joined the rescue operation, said the car appeared to have been travelling at high speed when it lost balance on the bend. “We rescued the occupants by breaking open the car door inside the pond.”

Police recovered the vehicle from the pond and were investigating the exact cause of the crash. They said it was too early to conclude whether overspeeding, poor visibility or some other factor was responsible for the accident.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

Car Accident

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