As many as 50 passengers had a narrow escape from a major accident as a bus carrying them tilted off Jatamundia-Subarnapur bridge over the Mahanadi River near Banki in Cuttack district after an accident on Tuesday.
As per reports, the bus was en route to Bhubaneswar from Angul when the mishap occurred. On the way, the vehicle had a mechanical failure while passing through the bridge. As a result, the driver lost control of the vehicle and it veered off the bridge.
In the process, the railing of the bridge was damaged and the vehicle remained dangling on the edge of Jatamundia-Subarnapur bridge.
Following the accident, local people present on the spot played an important role in rescuing the lives of all the passengers who were in a state of panic in the tilted bus.
Upon being informed, Banki police reached the spot and carried out the rescue operation along with the local people. Later, the hanging bus was recovered by fire service personnel with the help of a crane.
Meanwhile, Damapada Tehsildar said that the accident happened due to careless driving.
As per some passengers, the bus was moving at a great speed. As a result, the driver lost control over the vehicle and it veered off the bridge and ended up in a tilting position.
However, the driver of the bus Srikant Behera said that the accident happened due to a sudden mechanical failure in the steering wheel.
“The bus left Angul at 7.45 am and we were supposed to reach Bhubaneswar around 12 pm. However, unfortunately, the accident happened on Jatamundia-Subarnapur bridge due to the sudden failure of the steering wheel. I tried my best to put on the break and luckily the bus remained in a hanging position off the bridge. God saved the lives of all of us,” said Behera.