BERHAMPUR: Two persons were killed and another suffered critical injuries after a speeding Hyva truck rammed into a stationary goods auto-rickshaw in Rayagada block of Gajapati district on Tuesday.
The deceased were identified as B Sanmukh Rao (55) and S Benu Gopal (46), both residents of Badagaon. The mishap took place near Badagaon under Narayanpur panchayat.
Police said the goods auto-rickshaw carrying phenyl was parked by the roadside when the truck came at high speed and crashed into it. The impact was so severe that the three-wheeler was thrown off to a distance and badly mangled. Sanmukh and Benu, who were standing near the vehicle, were killed on the spot. The auto-rickshaw driver sustained critical injuries and was rushed to the nearby hospital for treatment.
On being informed, Gurandi police reached the spot, seized the truck and sent the bodies to the district headquarters hospital at Paralakhemundi for postmortem.
Following the mishap, tension flared up in the area as local residents blocked the Paralakhemundi-Berhampur main road, demanding adequate compensation for the families of the deceased. The agitators alleged that rash driving by the truck driver led to the fatal accident.
The blockade triggered a major traffic disruption, with hundreds of vehicles stranded on both sides of the road. Later, police reached the spot and persuaded the protesters to lift the road blockade.
Police said investigation is underway to ascertain the exact circumstances leading to the crash.
