ROURKELA: Road mishaps claimed the lives of four persons including a minor girl in Sundargarh and Koraput districts in the last 24 hours.
In Sundargarh, two youths and a 15-year-old girl were killed after the motorcycle on which they were travelling collided head-on with an unknown heavy vehicle on NH-143 at Birmitrapur town on Saturday night. The mishap took place after 11.30 pm. The deceased were identified as Dilip Samasi (21), Sahrei Lakra (20) and the minor Anjali Kusuma, all of Jolongbira village within Birmitrapur police limits.
Sources said the trio was returning home on a motorcycle after attending the Maha Shivaratri fair at Vedvyas. They were reportedly riding the bike at a high speed. When they reached Birmitrapur town, a speeding heavy vehicle coming from the opposite direction rammed into their motorcycle.
While Dilip and Sahrei died on the spot, the heavy vehicle sped away from the scene unnoticed. Anjali suffered critical injuries and was rushed to Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH). However, she succumbed during treatment.
Police on Sunday sent the bodies for autopsy after registering an unnatural death case. Efforts are underway to identify the heavy vehicle responsible for the mishap, said Birmitrapur IIC Ram Prasad Nag.
Similarly in Koraput, a person died after his car was hit by a truck near Government DAV College here on Sunday. Police identified the deceased as Syed Hanif of Thuba village in Nandapur block. Sources said Hanif’s wife gave birth to a baby earlier in the day at a hospital in Nandapur. Due to excessive bleeding, doctors advised to shift her to Saheed Laxman Nayak Medical College and Hospital (MCH) at Koraput, for advanced medical care. Hanif arranged an ambulance and sent his wife to the MCH with some relatives. He then followed the ambulance in his car.
The MCH was just 4 km away when a truck coming from the opposite direction collided head-on with his car. Hanif was rushed to the hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival.