KENDRAPARA: Two fish traders were killed and as many suffered serious injuries after the container truck in which they were travelling rammed into a stationary cement-laden truck on Kendrapara-Chandabali state highway at Kusunpur chowk in the early hours of Monday.
The deceased were identified as Rabindra Jena (35) of Talachua village and Santanu Jena (37) of Basudevpur in Bhadrak district. The injured are Budhia Sahoo (38) of Nayagarh, who was driving the container, and Swadhin Das (34) of Basudevpur.
Police said the container truck was on way to collect shrimps when it crashed into the stationary vehicle from behind at around 5.30 am. The cement-laden truck was parked on the road due to break-down.
Preliminary investigation suggested that rash driving led to the accident. Arikhita Rout, a local resident, said, “We suspect the driver may have dozed off at the wheel, causing the vehicle to hit the stationary truck. Hearing the loud impact of the crash, locals rushed to the spot and rescued the injured while retrieving the bodies from the wreckage.”
IIC of Kendrapara Sadar police station Padmalaya Pradhan said the injured duo is undergoing treatment at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. Bodies of the deceased were handed over to their respective families after postmortem at Kendrapara district headquarters hospital.
Police seized both the trucks involved in the mishap. A case has been registered and further investigation is underway, the IIC added.