At least six tourists from West Bengal were killed and more than 40 injured when the bus, in which they were traveling, met with an accident on Kalinga ghat in Odisha’s Ganjam district, police said on Wednesday.

The bus was on its way to Visakhapatnam after visitors from the Udaynarayanpur area of West Bengal’s Howrah district visited Daringbadi in Kandhamal district. The bus had almost 70 people on board.

According to the bus driver, the accident occurred late Tuesday night owing to brake failure.

“We left Daringbadi around 7.30 p.m. and ate dinner before arriving at the Kalinga ghat. The brake suddenly failed while I was descending the ghat, and I warned the passengers. The bus crashed after colliding with many electric poles “According to the diver, who was also injured in the tragedy.

Local police and fire departments raced to the scene shortly after receiving the information and began the rescue effort. According to the authorities, the rescue operation lasted till Wednesday morning.

The deceased have been identified as Supriya Denre, Sanjeet Patra, Rima Denre, Mausumi Denra, Barnali Manna, and Swapan Gushait, according to the latest news.

The injured were taken to Bhanjanagar’s local hospital for treatment. Due to their urgent health conditions, 15 of them were sent to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur.

“The patients were admitted to the surgery and orthopaedic departments, respectively. With the exception of one woman who suffered a head injury, the health of the others has remained constant. The victims are being treated by a dedicated team of doctors “MKCG Medical College officials stated.

Meanwhile, State Transport Minister Padmanabha Behera announced that a probe into the bus accident has been ordered. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed his condolences for the fatalities and wished the injured tourists a speedy recovery.

“We have seen in the past also that buses from other states met with accidents in the Kalinga ghat as the drivers don’t have experience driving buses in such a long ghat area. So, we will issue an advisory to buses coming from other states to choose alternative routes,” Behera said.
(with inputs from IANS)