Seven persons were killed when a speeding truck rammed a bus and a mini truck at Randha in Ganjam district of Odisha on Thursday.
Seven others, including a woman, were seriously injured in the mishap. The injured have been admitted in MKCG medical college in Berhampur. One of the deceased was a resident of Andhra Pradesh. The Driver and helper of the truck fled from the spot. The truck has been seized by police.
The accident took place early morning about 5.15 am. A service road adjacent to the highway near Randha was crowded with vegetable traders as well as people waiting to board buses. Vegetables were being unloaded from a mini-truck, and goods were being loaded on top of a parked passenger bus on its way to Patrapur from Berhampur.
All of a sudden the speeding truck with West Bengal registration number ploughed through the crowd. It ran over some passengers waiting to board the bus. Then it hit the mini-truck from behind. Police officials said it seemed the driver of the truck lost control while trying to save a biker.
The deceased were identified as G.Lalita Reddy (45) a vegetable trader of Chikarada village; Apanna Bisoi (47) of Ichhapur police station area of Andhra Pradesh, who used to visit Randha every morning to collect vegetables for trading; driver of the mini-truck, Sanjay Kumar Sahu from Cuttack district; Ramesh Samal (58) a small time trader of Kanisi; conductor of the parked bus Bulu Behera (38) and Rabindra Barada (45) of Golanthara, a labourer.
All except Srikant died at the spot, he breathed his last in MKCG medical college and hospital.
An angry mob tried to block the highway following this accident but were pacified by senior police officers who reached the spot. Ganjam district collector P.C.Choudhary announced immediate financial support of ten thousand rupees for families of each of the deceased as well as free treatment for the injured.
He promised to recommend for more financial compensation to the affected families.
