JAGATSINGHPUR: Eight people were killed and three others were injured when an autorickshaw collided head on with a dumper truck on National Highway 55 in Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha on Saturday.
Seven of the eight died on the spot. They were identified as Sudhir Behera and his daughter Yangyaseni Behera from Mandasahi, Dhaneswer Sahu, Chandramani Sahu, Bholanath Jena, Surendra Das and Sarat Pal of Singitalia, Dabur and Machgaon villages.
Three others, including the auto driver, sustained major injuries and were taken to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.
One of them died while undergoing treatment. The other two are currently in a critical condition, sub-divisional police officer S K Mishra said.
Police said the victims were returning home in the early hours of Saturday from Nemal Math in Cuttack where they had gone to attend the Snan Purnima Yajna there on Friday night.
Police officer Mishra said the auto was being driven on the wrong side of the highway when it was hit by a Hywa truck coming from the Balikuda area.
As news of the incident spread, local residents blocked the highway demanding Rs 5 lakh as compensation for bereaved families.
As a result, traffic was paralysed and hundreds of vehicles were stranded on the busy road. The district administration has provided financial assistance of Rs 10,000 from the Red Cross Fund to the kin of each killed.
Police have seized the autorickshaw and the truck.
The truck driver is at large.
Two platoons of policemen have been deployed at the spot to avert any untoward incident.