As many as 10 persons, including two children and two women, were killed and seven of a wedding party were injured in an accident near Khaprakhol in Patnagarh sub-division of Balangir district on Thursday morning.
The accident took place when the victims were returning to their village after attending the party at Khujenpali near Bolangir town. The four-wheeler they were travelling in hit a tree after the driver lost control near Jogimunda on the Patnagarh-Khaprakhol route. Police identified the deceased as Laxmi Bag (40), Astami Hati (35), Swadin Bag (8), Dusmanta Bag (4), Dharani Dhar Bag (35), Kamalakanta Rout (20), Shyam Hati (35), Hari Gartia (21), Tiki Bariha (20), and Kanhu Singh Bariha (23).
Eye-witnesses said the victims were trapped inside the vehicle and it took hours to rescue the injured passengers. Seven persons were taken to the Patnagarh hospital for treatment. Four of them were injured to VSS Medical College and Hospital, Burla. “We rushed to the spot after hearing about the accident and rescued the injured. It took us hours to rescue the injured persons from the mangled vehicle.” zilla parisad member of Khaprakhol Baijayanti Saraf and her husband Dhrub Saraf said.
The bodies of the deceased were handed over to their families after conducting autopsy. “We have taken all steps to provide medical care to the injured persons with the help of the district administration. A compensation of Rs one lakh would be given to the next of kin of the deceased from the chief minister’s relief fund,” SDPO (Patnagarh) Sunil Joshi said.
