Two youths were killed and 12 passengers sustained critical injuries on Friday as a private bus ‘Raja’ coming from Cuttack to Korua overturned near Arjunpur on the Narendrapur-Korua canal road under Patkura police station.
The deceased were identified as Rajesh Nayak (27) of Nahalapur under Nemal police station and Priyabrata Mahali (17) of Madhusasan village under Patkura police station. All the 12 injured were rushed to the Korua and Patkura CHC for treatment whereas two out of the six critically injured, including the conductor of the bus, were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) for treatment.
According to police, the ill-fated bus was carrying more than 40 passengers. It met the accident while overtaking a tractor and fell on a ditch before turning turtle.
Police later seized the bus but the driver managed to flee after the mishap. Patkura police registered a case and an inquiry was on, said SDPO Kedarnath Sahu.
Some students of lN College of Korua staged a road blockade by keeping the dead body of a fellow student who was one of the deceased. They demanded compensation to the kin of the deceased.
The SDPO and Project Director of DRDA rushed to the spot and managed to pacify the agitators. Meanwhile, Patkura police have seized the bodies and sent them for autopsy.
Meanwhile, the district administration provided a sum of `10,000 from District Red Cross to deceased’s family each and also informed to bear all the medical expenses. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced to provide `2 lakh as compensation to the deceased’s kin.