CUTTACK: At least three persons, including a woman, died and 40 others were injured in a head-on collision between two vehicles on Cuttack-Chandabali state highway in Cuttack district on Tuesday.
Police sources said the mishap occurred when a private bus they were travelling in collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction near Kalapola under Nischintakoili policy limits.
The truck driver and two passengers died on the spot. The deceased are Anasuya Barik (21) of Aul, Nalinikant Moharana (22) of Rajkanika and truck driver Sk Sabir (45). The condition of the bus driver is stated to be critical.
All the injured passengers were rushed to Nischintakoili Community Health Centre (CHC). Seven of them have been shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital after their condition deteriorated.
Police said the ill-fated bus carrying the passengers was heading towards Cuttack from Chandabali. It collided with a speeding 14-wheeler empty truck coming from Cuttack's side at about 7.20 am.
On being informed, Fire Services personnel rushed to the spot, recovered the bodies of the deceased and rescued injured passengers trapped inside the badly mangled bus by using a gas cutter.
Although the exact reason behind the mishap is yet to be ascertained, police suspected poor visibility due to dense fog could be the possible cause of the accident.
A case has been registered and further investigation is on.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has expressed grief over the tragic accident and announced ex-gratia of Rs 3 lakh for each deceased family. He directed the district authorities to provide the injured best of the best treatment free of cost and wished them speedy recovery.