Gloom and sorrow engulfed the campus of Sriram Chandra Bhanj Medical College and Hospital here on Wednesday morning with crowds of grieving friends and relatives waiting to either take the bodies of their near and dear ones home or to be with them as they battled for their life following the bus accident in the city on Tuesday evening.
At least 10 passengers died and 42 others were injured when the bus they were travelling in fell onto the Mahanadi riverbed after skidding off a bridge. The bodies of all the deceased were handed over to their family members after post-mortem. The hospital provided free ambulances to carry the bodies to their respective villages.
“We received 10 bodies, including three of women, and 42 injured persons, seven of whom are in critical condition. There has not been any increase in the death toll after the injured were given treatment here by a team of doctors drawn from 10 departments,” informed SCB Hospital emergency officer B.N. Moharana on Wednesday evening.
Governor visits hospital
Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal, Health Minister Pratap Jena and Transport Minister Nrushingha Sahu visited the hospital and expressed satisfaction over the manner in which the doctors and paramedics acted during the initial crucial hours to arrest the death toll.
“We cannot bring back those who have left us but we will not allow anyone of the remaining to leave us," the Governor said, lauding the efforts of the volunteers and the rescue workers who tirelessly struggled for over three hours on Tuesday evening to save all the trapped passengers from the mangled bus lying in the middle of the river in darkness.
Meanwhile, the Transport Minister has ordered a departmental enquiry to find out the cause of the accident.
The Cuttack RTO will head the investigation team, which will have an engineer of the NHAI, a motor vehicle inspector and a police inspector as its members. The Jagatpur police have registered a criminal case against the driver of the bus which was on its way to Bhubaneswar from Talcher. The driver is admitted at the hospital and is in a critical condition.
