Four persons were killed and another was seriously injured when an auto rickshaw, in which they were travelling, collided head on with a pickup van at Ragadha Square under Betanati police limits in Mayurbhanj district, 12 km from here late on Monday night.
The deceased, identified as Suresh Mahanta, Tukuna Dakua, Bana Singh and Raja Dehuri, were coming from their village to Budhikamari square to fetch a generator for a marriage ceremony when a pick-up van heading towards Baleswar on NH-5 collided with their vehicle head on. Four of the five persons died on the spot and another was rushed to the district headquarters hospital in a critical condition. All the victims belong to Budhikhamari and Kathapala villages in Mayurbhanj district, sources said. Police rushed to the spot and seized the two vehicles while the bodies were sent to Baripada district headquarters hospital for autopsy.