Home Guard dies, 4 cops including IIC critical in police van-108 ambulance collision in Odisha

A Home Guard died while four others, including an IIC, sustained critical injuries after a 108 ambulance crashed into a police van near Petrol Pump chhak at Udala in Mayurbhanj district late last night.

Those who were in the ambulance also sustained injuries in the mishap. All injured were rushed to the Baripada hospital for treatment.

Allegedly, the driver of the ambulance was using his phone while driving the vehicle which led to the incident. "We were on our way when the ambulance came from nowhere and crashed into our vehicle," said an injured cop.

It was a head-on collision between the speeding ambulance and the police van. Surprisingly, the police van was parked on the roadside and the cops were questioning a person when the mishap occurred.

"After dropping a patient in Baripada, we were returning when our vehicle crashed into the police van that was parked on the roadside. There were three persons in the ambulance including the driver," said a pharmacist who was in the ambulance.

Till the last report came in, the driver of the police van and the ICC were shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack after their condition deteriorated.