At least seven passengers died and 35 others were injured when a bus fell into Mahanadi riverbed from a bridge near Jagatpur on the outskirts of Cuttack city on Tuesday evening. The private bus carrying over 40 passengers was on its way to Cuttack from Talcher and reportedly skidded after crashing the bridge railing and fell down over 30 feet onto the dry riverbed.
DGP Dr Rajendra Prasad Sharma tweeted informing the death toll and informed that most of the injured have been shifted to the hospital for treatment. “I am extremely saddened to know about seven deaths…RIP…most of the other injured have been shifted to the hospital and are receiving treatment…wish them a speedy recovery…”, the DGP tweeted about two hours after the accident.
Eyewitnesses said the driver reportedly lost control of the b us when a buffalo came on its way. In order to save the animal, the driver swerved the bus to the right and skidded from the bridge. The bus nevertheless hit the buffalo and its body was found lying on the bridge with bloodstains on the bridge railing.
Police from the city along with fire brigade personnel and Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) teams rushed to the accident site to rescue the trapped passengers. Since the site is at the centre of the bridge; and there was water on both the riverbanks, rescue teams are reaching the bus through ropes from the bridge.
Chief Fire Officer Sukant Sethy said all the passengers trapped in the bus were rescued and rushed to the SCB Medical College Hospital for treatment. Since it was dark all around, the rescue operation was initially hampered. ODRAF teams, however, utilising powerboats, reached the site and rescued the passengers.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed deep concern over the tragedy and directed Health Minister Pratap Jena to rush to the spot and ensure treatment of the injured.