14 Bengal tourists injured after bus en route to Puri hits truck in Bhadrak

At least 14 devotees from West Bengal sustained grievous injuries after a bus ferrying them to Puri hit a truck from the rear in Bhadrak district on Saturday. The condition of the two devotees is stated to be critical, reports said.

The incident occurred in the wee hours of Saturday on National Highway-16 near Juragadia in Bhadrak district. All the injured have been admitted to Bhadrak district headquarters hospital (DHH).

“Around 65 of us were going to Puri. The bus we were travelling in met with an accident in the dawn today. All the injured are fine now, but the condition of two is critical and they are under observation now,” said an injured person.

According to sources, the devotees from Kolkata were on their way to Puri to pay their obeisance to Lord Jagannath. However, the bus hit a truck from the rear, stationed on National Highway-16 after the driver lost balance over the wheels.

Locals and passers-by came to the rescue of the devotees and alerted the cops and fire services personnel who rushed to the spot and admitted all the injured to the hospital.

Meanwhile, the driver and helper of the vehicle fled from the spot after the incident.

(Reported by Parthasarathi Nayak, OTV)