Five persons were killed and five others critically injured when a train rammed into a Bolero vehicle at an unmanned railway level-crossing at Dhalapur in Dhenkanal district on Wednesday.
The tragedy took place when the Bolero was hit by the Sambalpur-Puri Intercity Express while it was trying to cross the track at the level-crossing.
The injured persons were admitted at the District Headquarters Hospital here.
One Rabi Tripathy of the Samal area had come with his family in the Bolero to village Dhalpur, from where he picked up his sister to go for a Darshan of lord Chandrasekhar at Kapilash. But unfortunately, the vehicle was hit by the train which was coming from Sambalpur. The two daughters and a son-in-law of Tripathy died on the spot along with another relative and the Bolero driver.
It is alleged that though a person has been contract to deploy a guard at the Dhalpur level-crossing, the level-crossing remains unguarded for almost all time throughout the year.
Following the incident, hundreds of railway passengers were left stranded in the scorching heat. The Motonga police reached the spot and took control of the situation.