BHUBANESHWAR: At least 36 tourists, including four children from West Bengal were injured when the bus they were travelling in lost control and swerved off the road at the foothills of the famous Dhauligiri on the city outskirts on Tuesday morning.
They were immediately rushed to Capital Hospital here. Six of the passengers suffered multiple fractures and were shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack. Another seven tourists were later moved to the medical college.
Ten passengers are recovering at Capital Hospital while the rest were discharged after receiving preliminary medical attention.
The accident took place at about 7.30 am when the bus, carrying over 60 tourists from West Bengal’s Midnapore district, was returning from a visit to the iconic Buddhist attraction. On the way back down the hill, the vehicle appeared to have reported a brake failure which led to the mishap.
As the driver fervently tried to regain control of the vehicle, locals and other tourists tried to block the road with
boulders so that the bus could come to a halt but it went off the road to the open fields before turning turtle. Police,fire fighters and Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) members rushed to the spot to rescue the passengers, with help from the locals.
Fire officer Ramesh Majhi said, he had seen the bus going towards Dhauligiri. “It appears that the brakes failed because when I saw it in the morning, the vehicle was on its way to the tourist spot and it did not have any technical snag,” he said.
Director, Health Services Kailash Dash said the injured were immediately shifted to the hospital in ambulances and PCR vans. Some of them were even provided preliminary treatment at the spot.
“All arrangements were made to provide medical attention to the tourists at Capital Hospital. We also have been in touch with SCB Medical College to remain updated about the health status of those admitted there,” he said.
The State Government announced free treatment for all the injured. Tourism Secretary Arti Ahuja and Khurdha Collector Niranjan Sahu rushed to Capital hospital to take stock of the situation while Health Secretary Pramod Meherda spoke to his counterpart in WB Government to intimate him about the status. A helpline number was also activated.
The overturned bus was later lifted by cranes. One of the two drivers sustained injuries while the other is
absconding. A team of Odisha Motor Vehicle Department also inspected the site to probe the reason behind the mishap. The bus was operating on a temporary permit.