DHENKANAL: Over 20 persons were injured, three of them critically, when a bus overturned at Kantiokateni under Tumusingha police limits in Dhenkanal district on Friday morning.
Police sources said the mishap took place when the bus, which carried around 30 passengers, turned turtle while passing through a muddy canal road.
"The bus had commenced its journey from Parjanga towards Bhubaneswar in the morning. As repairing work was going on at Kantiokateni on Kamakhyanagar-Dhenkanal road, the bus driver in order to go faster made a diversion through Rengali branch canal on a muddy road. The bus overturned while passing on that narrow road and fell into the six feet deep canal," police said.
On being informed by locals, fire personnel from Kamakhyanagar and police officials rushed to the spot and rescued the passengers. The injured people included the bus conductor and the helper, while the driver fled from the scene after the mishap.
Inspector-in-charge of Tumusinga police station, Manaswini Mohanty, said the injured passengers were immediately rushed to Anlaberini community health centre, from where the seriously injured were shifted to Dhenkanal district headquarters hospital.
A case has been registered in this connection and further investigation is on, she added.