Bhubaneswar: At least seven persons were killed while 40 passengers sustained injuries in a bus mishap that occurred near Palukhola in Taptapani Ghat of the district on the wee hours of Wednesday.
The mishap took place after a private bus namely “Maruti” carrying around 50 passengers skidded off a bridge near Palukhola in Taptapani Ghat of the district at around 3 am on Wednesday.
The ill-fated bus was on its way to Berhampur from Tikiri in Rayagada when the accident occurred.
The injured were taken to the Digapahandi and MKCH Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur.
Meanwhile, expressing grief and sorrow over the death of seven persons, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the kin of the seven persons.
The Chief Minister also directed the Ganjam Collector and SP to expedite the relief and rescue operations.
Though the exact reason behind the horrific mishap is yet to be ascertained, Commerce and Transport Minister Padmanabha Behera quoting the local RTO and MVI officials said that the bus might have overturned after losing balance due to low visibility in foggy condition.
Meanwhile, a thorough probe has been ordered to find out whether the mishap took place due to fog, technical glitches in the bus, over speeding or fault on the driver’s side.
