At least 10 people were killed and several others injured in a head-on collision between two buses under Digapahandi police limit in Odisha’s Ganjam district.
Official sources said the accident took place at around 1 am in the night when a private bus returning from Berhampur collided with a state-run Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) that was coming from the opposite direction from Gudari in Rayagada district.
The tragic road mishap reportedly took place near Digapahandi in Ganjam district. However, the cause of the accident was not immediately known.
All the passengers of the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation bus and the private bus have been admitted to MKCG Medical College & Hospital in Berhampur.
“We have information of 10 persons being killed in the accident while six persons are undergoing treatment in MKCG hospital. A critically injured person has been shifted to SCB hospital in Cuttack. All arrangements have been made here for treatment of patients,” infromed Ganjam Collector Dibyajyoti Parida.
While the driver of one of the two buses involved in the accident is undergoing treatment, police said they are looking for the driver of the other bus.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik expressed deep concern over the accident and announced ex-gratia of Rs 3 lakh each for the family members of the deceased. He also said that free treatment would be provided to the injured.Patnaik further directed state finance minister Bikram Keshari Arukha and Berhampur MLA Bikram Panda to rush to the spot to monitor the situation