At least five people were killed and over 12 others injured as an oil tanker ploughed into a roadside tea stall after a head-on collision with a passenger bus during morning hours on Thursday in Odisha’s Ganjam district.
The road accident occurred on the National Highway 59 at Samarjhola near Hinjili when the driver of the bus, on the way from Bhawanipatna to Berhampur, tried to overtake the tanker, coming from the opposite direction, police said.
While four people, three of them sipping cups of tea, died on the spot, another victim later succumbed to injuries at the hospital, said police.
The injured are undergoing treatment at government-run MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur. Their health condition is stated to be critical.
”Reckless over-speeding and attempts to overtake resulted in the road accident fatalities. We have registered a case in this connection,” police added.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, expressing grief over the loss of human lives in the fatal road accident, announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia each for the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh for those critically injured.