One dead, 14 injured as auto rickshaw rams into tree

On the day of Dussehra, when festivities were all around, 15 people from Bisipalli area of Bargarh district did not have an iota of idea that their trip to have a darshan of the Goddess at Huma shrine would be fraught with danger.

One of them died and 14 others sustained injuries after the auto-rickshaw they were travelling in rammed into a tree near Dhama on the Sambalpur-Sonepur road on Tuesday. 

The injured were initially admitted to the Sambalpur district headquarters hospital and later 13 of them were shifted to the VIMSAR, Burla. 

As per reports, the deceased and the injured belong to Bisipalli area in Bargarh district. They hired an auto rickshaw to have the darshan of the deity at Huma temple. However, the driver lost control of the vehicle, following which it rammed into a roadside tree. One of the occupants died on the spot while 14 others were injured.

An elderly person, who was injured in the accident, said,” I was sitting in the rear of the vehicle. The driver rammed the vehicle into a tree.” 

Umakant Majhi, a staff of the district headquarters hospital said, “As many as 15 people of Bisipalli were in the vehicle. All of them were going to Huma temple in the hired auto rickshaw and later the vehicle hit a roadside tree. One of them died on the spot while another was admitted to the surgery ward of the hospital and the other injured were referred to VIMSAR, Burla.”

Immediately after the accident, locals rescued the injured and sent them to the district headquarters hospital. Meanwhile, police have started an investigation into the matter.

No comments have been received from the police.