Three persons were killed and another was seriously injured when the van in which they were travelling rammed into a tree in Orissa's Sambalpur district today, police said.
The mishap occurred in the wee-hours near Rairakhol, about 65 km from here on NH-42, apparently after the driver of the Jharsuguda bound jeep from Bhubaneswar lost control over the vehicle. The jeep was carrying saplings of the state agriculture department.
The victims had been identified as driver of the jeep Saroj Behera, owner Raju Sabat and another occupant Prasant Das and they all belonged to Rairakhol area. Hrusikesh Setha, an employee of agriculture department was seriously injured and undergoing treatment at a hospital at Rairakhol. The bodies were handed over after post-mortem at Rairakhol, they said adding inquiry into the mishap was continuing.