Twenty-five persons, mostly theatre artistes, were killed when a bus they were travelling in fell off a mountain road, 15 km from district headquarter town of Deogarh in Odisha and 350 km from Bhubaneswar on Sunday evening.
“The accident took place between 6.30 pm and 7 pm. Twenty-five of the 36 persons in the bus died on the spot,” Sara Sharma, Superintendent of Police of Deogarh, told The Hindu over phone.
All the victims belonged to the Bharati Gananatya, a local theatre group from the Bargarh district. The bus was going to Sambalpur when the accident took place. Police sources said the bus driver could not negotiate a sharp turn along the hilly road and dashed against the boundary wall. The speeding bus plunged off the hill.
“We have mobilised a unit of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force, fire service personnel and the Central Reserve Police Force for the rescue operation. A medical team has already reached the spot,” said Ms. Sharma.
“Three persons were shifted to VSS Medical College, Burla. It seems all of them would have to be shifted to the medical college hospital,” she said.
The rescue operation could not be conducted smoothly due to darkness. The accident site could be reached only by walking.
Some local people extended help during initial phase.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed shock and grief over loss of lives in the accident. He directed the top police brass to take up rescue operations with all sincerity.
