The festival of Holi turned into tragedies on Friday for some people in the State with as many as 18 lives being lost and 21 injured due to road accidents and drowning. According to reports, 14 persons were killed in road accidents and four others lost their lives in drowning while taking bath after celebrating Holi.
In a road mishap, four persons were killed and one was critically injured when the car in which they were travelling hit a tree near Pipalmunda Chhak in Bargarh district. The accident occurred when the car in which four members of a family from Rengali dam area along with their maid were going to Bhatli village for a visit to a temple there lost control and dashed against the tree.
Reports said while the mother, son and maid died on the spot, father Hemant Kumar Jain and his ten month old daughter who were critically injured in the mishap were first admitted to the Bargarh District Headquarters Hospital and were later shifted to the VSS Medical College Hospital at Burla, where the daughter succumbed to her injuries.
Condition of the father, Hemant Kumar Jain is stated to be stable, according to hospital sources. In another road accident near Ansol, in Nimapada two persons died, when the bike in which they were travelling in hit a roadside tree. Similarly, in another mishap one killed near Solapur bridge in Gopa.
According to sources, in two separate accidents in Brahmapur, two persons lost their lives while in another road mishap in Patnagada two persons died. In another tragic incident, two persons were killed on Bhubaneswar-Puri highway when their bike had a head on collision with a bus coming from opposite direction. As many as 20 passengers in the bus sustained injuries as the bus lost its control and overturns after the collision.
Similarly in another road mishap near Rairangpur-Jasipur, one death report was registered. Drowning deaths were also reported from Jajpur district and Salepur block of Cuttack.
Two girl students and a Bhubaneswar-based youth drowned in the Kharasrota and Brahmani river in Jajpur district while another youth also died while bathing in the Chitrotpala river under Salepur block of Cuttack district, after playing Holi. The two girls, identified as Itishree Behera and Kiran Jena, were appearing for Matric examinations.